ViacomCBS Inc. (VIAC, VIACA) is nearing a deal to sell its book publishing business Simon & Schuster to German media giant Bertelsmann AG, which owns Penguin Random House, in more than $2 billion deal, according to The Financial Times.
A deal could be announced as soon as this week. As per reports, News Corp.'s HarperCollins and French media company Vivendi SA are also in the race to buy Simon & Schuster.
Bertelsmann earlier has stated its plans for Penguin Random House unit to grow organically and through M&A. If succeeding, the acquisition of Simon & Schuster is expected to make Bertelsmann the world's biggest book publisher.
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May 08, 2026 15:50 ET Manufacturing and services sector survey results and labor market data from main economies were the highlight on the economics news front this week. Factory orders and jobs report dominated the news flow in the U.S. Similarly, industrial production data from German garnered attention in Europe. In Asia, purchasing managers’ survey results from China and the central bank decision from Australia were in focus.