Top Section
Explore Business Standard
Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.
Publishers
Nihar Malaviya, an Indian-origin publishing executive, has been named interim CEO of New York-based international publishing group Penguin Random House after its current chief executive officer Markus Dohle announced he is stepping down from the role. Malaviya, who has been President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the publisher's American division Penguin Random House US since 2019, will assume the role of Interim CEO of Penguin Random House starting January 1, 2023, the publisher's parent company Bertelsmann said in a statement Friday. Malaviya, who will report to Bertelsmann CEO Thomas Rabe, will join the Bertelsmann's Group Management Committee (GMC), as well as continue to be a member of the Penguin Random House Global Executive Committee. Following Malaviya's appointment, the GMC will comprise 20 top executives of eight different nationalities, the statement said. As interim CEO of Penguin Random House, Malaviya will lead the creation of new competitive advantages that .
Simon & Schuster's corporate parent has officially ended the agreement for Penguin Random House to purchase the publisher, a proposed sale a federal judge already had blocked last month. Paramount Global also announced Monday that it still plans to sell Simon & Schuster, a nearly century-old company where authors include Stephen King, Colleen Hoover and Bob Woodward. Simon & Schuster has had a strong 2022 so far, thanks in part to bestsellers by Hoover and King, who had opposed the merger and even testified on behalf of the government during last summer's antitrust trial. Simon & Schuster remains a non-core asset to Paramount, as was determined in early 2020 when Paramount conducted a strategic review of its assets, Paramount announced. Simon & Schuster is a highly valuable business with a recent record of strong performance, however it is not video-based and therefore does not fit strategically within Paramount's broader portfolio. Penguin Random House owes a $200
Pop star Britney Spears has signed a USD 15 million book deal with publishing house Simon & Schuster for a tell-all memoir. According to Page Six, Simon & Schuster secured the deal for Spears' memoir after a massive bidding war involving multiple publishers. The book deal comes three months after the singer's 13-year conservatorship was terminated by a judge. In her public testimony last year about the conservatorship, Spears told the Los Angeles judge that she had been forced to work by conservators despite begging for breaks, and that she had no control over her finances, was denied her wish to marry her boyfriend, and was barred from removing her birth control despite her wish to have a third child. Spears, 41, has also been vocal about her estrangement from her family, including dad Jamie, mom Lynne and sister Jamie Lynn. She recently publicly condemned Jamie Lynn, who made allegations about the singer's mental health while promoting her own memoir. She described her pop ..