Everything is complicated for the German group Bertelsmann, whose subsidiary Penguin Random House intended to acquire the publishing house Simon & Schuster for 2.18 billion dollars.
The Department of Justice in Washington is opposed to the operation in order to protect competition.
"
If the world's largest publisher of books is allowed to buy one of its biggest rivals, it will have unprecedented power of control in this important industry,
" said US Secretary of Justice Merrick Garland.
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The transaction negotiated a year ago was to allow the communication group ViacomCBS to get rid of Simon & Schuster.
The US market share of Penguin Random House is around 21%, while that of Simon & Schuster is close to 6%.
To block the acquisition, the Department of Justice's antitrust service is initiating civil proceedings in federal court.
Generally, the prospect of such a lawsuit, with an uncertain outcome, is enough to dissuade the purchaser and leads to the abandonment of the marriage.
The two publishers argue that their union would not affect competition, prices or authors' remuneration.
They point out that in the face of Amazon's purchasing and distribution power, strengthening an already important player is a good thing.
The antitrust approach is in line with President Biden's promises to be even more demanding than his predecessors and to prevent concentration in certain sectors, such as media, finance and technology.
Editing is going through a period of concentration.
Hachette (Lagardère group), for example, has just bought Workman Publishing and will be able to merge with Editis in France, while News Corp, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, offered Houghton Mifflin Harcourt last May.
