Pan announced her ruling in a brief statement last week, keeping the bulk of it under seal because of confidentiality issues. The full ruling issued this week delves into the data of publishing-market dynamics, replete with charts and graphs. Some company-related material is redacted.
Penguin Random House, owned by German conglomerate Bertelsmann, is the biggest book publisher in the U.S., as Pan laid out in her ruling. She noted that Simon & Schuster, whose parent is New York-based media giant Paramount Global, is the third-largest U.S. publisher. The Justice Department declined further comment Tuesday on Pan’s decision. Simon & Schuster and Paramount declined to comment.
The “Big Five” companies —- the others are Hachette, Macmillan and HarperCollins — publish 91% of anticipated top-selling books, Pan noted in her ruling.