The US DoJ blocks the merger between two major international book publishers (Penguin Random House / Simon & Schuster)

Will the Next Chapter in DOJ’s Showdown With Book Publishers Rewrite the Book on Antitrust Merger Enforcement?* Federal antitrust enforcers hope to write a new chapter on merger enforcement this year as they face off against leading publishers. One of the major antitrust developments last year was the United States Department of Justice’s (DOJ) challenge of the merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, alleging that the large publishers’ combined monopsony power would harm competition in the publishing industry and should be blocked. On December 13, 2021, the two publishers, along with their parents Bertelsmann SE & CO. KGaA and ViacomCBS (the “Publishers”), filed their answer to DOJ’s complaint. The answer foreshadows interesting debates in antitrust law, and a