US Judge lays out case for blocking publishing giants merger

By MARCY GORDON
AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has laid out a data-laden case for why she blocked Penguin Random House’s proposed purchase of Simon & Schuster. The ruling handed a victory to the Biden Justice Department in its contention that the joining of two of the world’s biggest publishers could hurt competition for top-selling books. In her ruling filed Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Florence Pan also waved off as not relevant the publishers’ assertion that Penguin Random House would be the best “home” for Simon & Schuster and that other buyers _ notably private equity firms _ could destroy it.