KKR completes S&S purchase

Private equity firm KKR has completed its US$1.6 billion (A$2.5b) purchase of Simon & Schuster (S&S) from Paramount Global in an all-cash transaction, reports Publishers Weekly.

S&S is a now a standalone private company and continues to be led by president and CEO Jonathan Karp. ‘This is an exciting moment for us—both a return to our roots as a standalone company and an opportunity for all of us to forge a new path together,’ said Karp. ‘With KKR’s resources and support, we intend to become an even stronger company and a more dynamic force in our industry, while still maintaining our well-established record of editorial excellence and independence, and our unceasing focus on doing the best for our authors and their books.’

KKR plans to introduce a ‘broad-based employee ownership program’ that will give S&S employees a stake in the company. KKR has used the program at its other companies, including audiobook publisher RBMedia, which KKR acquired in 2018 and sold this year.

‘Although many of us already feel ownership of our work, by sharing in ownership of the company itself, we will be a magnet for the best publishing talent, and have more of a voice in charting our collective future,’ Karp wrote in a letter to employees.

Paramount first announced the sale of S&S to KKR in August, pending regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. The sale to KKR followed a bid for S&S by Penguin Random House, which was blocked from acquiring the publisher by a US federal court ruling last year.

Category: