Simon & Schuster, Inc. is again up for sale. Months after a federal judge halted Penguin Random House's plan to purchase its longtime rival, Simon & Schuster's Chief Executive Officer and parent company, Paramount Global (NasdaqGS:PARA), have confirmed that the publisher is back on the market, with a sale possible by the end of the year. “I can now report that, as expected, Paramount has resumed the process of selling Simon & Schuster,” Simon & Schuster Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Karp wrote in a staff memo shared May 4, 2023 with The Associated Press.

Karp noted in the letter that Simon & Schuster is enjoying a strong 2023 so far, with double-digit domestic revenue growth over the first three months compared with the same time period last year. “It should come as no surprise that there are many interested parties, a reflection of the fact that we are an even more successful and more profitable company than when the sale process first began,” Karp wrote. Paramount has said that Simon & Schuster does not fit “strategically” because it's not video-based.

During an earnings report call May 4, 2023 morning, Paramount Chief Financial Officer Naveen Chopra noted that the company was committed to “divesting non-core assets.” “We have restarted the sale process for Simon & Schuster and we see a path to potentially closing a transaction this year,” she said. "The combination of initial interest and strong operating performance of the business over the last several years, gives us confidence in our ability to maximize the value of this asset for our shareholders".