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Lagardere SA is in the business of content publishing, production, broadcasting, and distribution. It is also engaged in the travel retail business with various brands such as Relay and Aelia Duty-Free, and other selective distribution brands. The company operates through divisions: Lagardere Publishing, Lagardere Travel Retail, and others.

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The anti-competition investigations against Jeff Bezos’ Amazon Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) have now spilled over into its e-books business in Connecticut, accordin

Amazon&#39;s Faces Investigations In Connecticut Over Anti-competitive Practices In E-books Business

Asset Sales

ViacomCBS Inc (NASDAQ: VIAC) is in the advanced stages of finalizing an agreement to sell its book publishing subsidiary, Simon &amp; Schuster, for $2 billion.

ViacomCBS Nears Deal To Sell Simon &amp; Schuster For $2B To Penguin Random House Parent

ViacomCBS To Sell Publishing Subsidiary Simon &amp; Schuster

Lagardere SA

The anti-competition investigations against Jeff Bezos&rsquo;&nbsp;Amazon Inc&nbsp;(NASDAQ:&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/amzn#NASDAQ" style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank">AMZN</a>) have now spilled over into its e-books business in Connecticut, according to the&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/connecticut-investigating-amazon-s-e-book-business-11610581339?mod=business_lead_pos6" style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank">Wall Street Journal</a>. Reportedly, a similar investigation is also underway in California.
What Happened: The Journal cited Connecticut&rsquo;s Attorney General William Tong, saying Amazon&rsquo;s agreement with publishers is under probe for anticompetitive behavior. &ldquo;Our office continues to aggressively monitor this market to protect fair competition for consumers, authors, and other e-book retailers,&rdquo; Tong said.
Reportedly, the Connecticut authorities have sought access to documents pertaining to five of the significant publishers in the U.S, based on a subpoena filed in 2019. The Tech Transparency Project &mdash; a nonprofit, nonpartisan watchdog organization, was the first to secure this subpoena.
Why Does It Matter: With a 76% share of e-book sales in September &mdash; based on the research by Codex Group LLC, and a dedicated Kindle business for e-book readers, Amazon is a key player in this segment.
The five publishers named in the subpoena include&nbsp;News Corp&rsquo;s&nbsp;(NASDAQ:&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nwsa#NASDAQ" style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank">NWSA</a>) HarperCollins Publishers, Hachette Book Group &mdash; a wholly-owned subsidiary of the French media company&nbsp;Lagardere SCA&nbsp;(OTC:&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/lgddf#OTC" style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank">LGDDF</a>),&nbsp;Bertelsmann SE&rsquo;s&nbsp;Penguin Random House,&nbsp;ViacomCBS Inc&rsquo;s&nbsp;(NASDAQ:&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/viac#NASDAQ" style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank">VIAC</a>) (NASDAQ:&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/viaca#NASDAQ" style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank">VIACA</a>) publishing division Simon &amp; Schuster and Macmillan Publishers, as per the Journal.
Before the ongoing investigation against Amazon, Connecticut pursued a similar stand against&nbsp;Apple Inc&rsquo;s&nbsp;(NASDAQ:&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/aapl#NASDAQ" style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank">AAPL</a>) e-book business. At the time, a civil antitrust lawsuit was filed against five publishers and Apple, WSJ noted.
Price Action: AMZN stock closed 1.44% higher at $3,165.89 Wednesday.
Related News:&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/government/20/11/18293155/amazon-to-face-eu-antitrust-charges-report" style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank">Amazon To Face EU Antitrust Charges: Report</a>

Amazon Faces Investigations In Connecticut Over Anti-Competitive Practices In E-books Business

ViacomCBS Inc&nbsp;(NASDAQ:&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/viac#NASDAQ" style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank">VIAC</a>) is in the advanced stages of finalizing an agreement to sell its book publishing subsidiary, Simon &amp; Schuster, for $2 billion. The&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/penguin-random-house-parent-near-deal-to-buy-simon-schuster-from-viacomcbs-11606268232" style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank">Wall Street Journal&nbsp;</a>reports that German media company Bertelsmann SE &amp; Co, the parent of Penguin Random House, could be the final suitor.
What Happened: The Journal said that the sale&rsquo;s cash proceeds would be used to further ViacomCBS&rsquo; streaming video business.
The&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/news/20/03/15485268/viacomcbs-to-sell-publishing-subsidiary-simon-schuster" style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank">sale of Simon &amp; Schuster</a>&nbsp;was in the pipeline since early March this year. WSJ owner&nbsp;News Corp&nbsp;(NASDAQ:&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nwsa#NASDAQ" style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank">NWSA</a>) (NASDAQ:&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nws#NASDAQ" style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank">NWS</a>) and French media company&nbsp;Lagardere SCA&nbsp;(OTC:&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/lgddf#OTC" style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank">LGDDF</a>) were also potential bidders at the time.
If the deal follows through, renowned authors like Stephen King, Bob Woodward, Dan Brown, and John Grisham would be housed under one roof.
Washington Antitrust Attorney and former Justice Department personnel, David Meyer, opines that the deal of this magnitude could draw federal scrutiny. The Journal quoted Meyer saying, &ldquo;Their combined share would be sufficient to motivate a close look at the transaction.&rdquo;
Why Does It Matter: Currently, Bertelsmann&rsquo;s Penguin Random House is the leading publisher in the U.S., whereas Simon &amp; Schuster ranks third. If the deal pulls through, the new publishing house would be accountable for one out of three books sold in the U.S.
Simon &amp; Schuster was not the only unit considered for sale. In September, South Carolina headquartered Red Ventures acquired CNET Media Group from ViacomCBS for $500 million. Last year,&nbsp;<a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/09/viacomcbs-ceo-cash-from-selling-cbs-building-may-be-used-in-stock-buyback.html" style="color: rgb(14, 16, 26); background: transparent; margin-top:0pt; margin-bottom:0pt;; color: #4a6ee0;" target="_blank">CNBC</a>&nbsp;reported ViacomCBS&rsquo; plans to dispose of the CBS New York headquarter building, &ldquo;Black Rock,&rdquo; to fund share repurchase. However, the company decided to suspend the sale in March.
Simon &amp; Schuster had published ex-National Security Advisor John Bolton&rsquo;s &ldquo;The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir&rdquo; in June.
Price Action: VIAC shares dipped 0.32% to $34.51 on Tuesday.

ViacomCBS Nears Deal To Sell Simon & Schuster For $2B To Penguin Random House Parent

ViacomCBS Inc. (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/viaca#NASDAQ">VIACA</a>) (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/viac#NASDAQ">VIAC</a>) is looking to sell the veteran publishing subsidiary Simon &amp; Schuster, chief executive officer Bob Bakish said in a call with investors Wednesday.
<h3>What Happened</h3>
&quot;Simon &amp; Schuster is not a core asset of the company,&quot; Bakish told investors, as <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/viacomcbs-explores-sale-of-simon-schuster-publishing-house-11583343286?mod=lead_feature_below_a_pos1">reported</a> by the Wall Street Journal. The CEO added that he had received &quot;multiple unsolicited inbound calls&quot; about Simon &amp; Schuster.
News Corp (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nwsa#NASDAQ">NWSA</a>) (NASDAQ: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/nws#NASDAQ">NWS</a>) subsidiary HarperCollins Publishers could be one of the potential bidders alongside Lagardere S.C.A. (OTC: <a class="ticker" href="https://www.benzinga.com/stock/lgddf#OTC">LGDDF</a>) subsidiary Hachette Book Group, per the Journal.
&quot;HarperCollins has been interested in gaining scale through organic growth and acquisitions of other companies,&quot; the publisher&#39;s CEO Brian Murray told the Journal. &quot;Any time a publishing company is on the market, we&#39;d like to take a look.&quot;
<h3>Why It Matters</h3>
Viacom and CBS merger in December last year and were at the time reported to be looking to sell some of the subsidiaries not in line with their core business of media.
The sale of print books has also remained stagnant, as e-books and audiobooks see rising popularity.
ViacomCBS had reported a revenue of $814 million from publishing for the financial year 2019, down 1.3% from the $825 million posted a year earlier.
<h3>Price Action</h3>
ViacomCBS&#39;s Class A shares closed 1.62% higher at $28.78 on Wednesday, and Class B shares closed 0.09% higher at $23.1.
News Corp&#39;s Class A shares closed 0.55% lower at $11.77, and Class B shares closed 0.08% higher at $12.10.

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