Paramount sells Simon & Schuster to private investment firm

Simon & Schuster has been acquired by private investment firm KKR for $1.62 billion, according to a joint statement between the firm and the publishing giant's parent company, Paramount Global.

The deal will turn Simon & Schuster into a "standalone private company and will continue to be led by Jonathan Karp, President and CEO and Dennis Eulau, COO and CFO of Simon & Schuster," the statement continues.

The publishing industry is dominated by a few mega-corporations that, over the decades, have acquired smaller imprints.

Last year, the Department of Justice...