has scrapped plans to merge with competitor Simon & Schuster following a court's decision to block the $2.2 billion deal.
Penguin Random House owner Bertelsmann initially said it would appeal the decision, but the German media group said in a statement Monday that it "will advance the growth of its global book publishing business without the previously planned merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster." Judge Florence Pan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on October 31 that the Justice Department had proved the deal could significantly negate competition "in the market for the U.S. publishing rights to anticipated top-selling books."