Wall Street journal report (access likely to expire soon) indicates News Corp is looking to buy Simon & Shuster from CBS to merge it with HarperCollins (and, likely, WSJ):
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/...DEyNDAyWj.html
Quote:
The conversations come about a month after the owners of two publishing rivals, Random House and Penguin Group, agreed to merge their books businesses into a publishing powerhouse.
News Corp. made a last-minute expression of interest in buying PearsonPSON.LN -1.34% PLC's Penguin but never made a formal offer. Instead, Penguin agreed to combine with Bertelsmann SE & Co.'s Random House.
For book publishing, an industry dominated by a half-dozen big companies, consolidation is viewed in part as a way to weather the transition to digital media. Combining forces can allow publishers to gain more heft in negotiating terms with retailers, including Amazon.com Inc., industry executives say.
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Quote:
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Simon & Schuster, which was founded in 1924 and publishes about 2,000 titles annually, had $1.6 billion in revenue and $90 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2011, according to CBS regulatory filings.
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Quote:
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A combination of HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster could create the second-largest publisher in the U.S. market. Random House and Penguin have a combined 28% to 30% of the market, while HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster together account for 18% to 20% of it, according to Albert N. Greco Institute for Publishing Research Inc.
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Alternate sources:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...r-talks-393507
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/1...n_2168044.html
That leaves MacMillan and Hachette on the outside looking in, but I suspect Murdock will be talking to Hachette next. That will let HCSS+H match the Random Penguin in market share and cost-cutting efficiency. (read: personel reductions.)