DOJ Publishing Win May Mean More Labor, Salary Challenges

By and on November 30, 2022

US District Judge Florence Pan’s decision to block Penguin Random House LLC’s planned $2.2 billion acquisition of Simon & Schuster represented the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division’s first major merger win following a string of losses this fall. Judge Pan’s decision is significant because she accepted the DOJ’s theory that the merger would lead to lower compensation for best-selling authors. This decision may embolden the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to challenge more transactions based on the impact on labor and salaries rather than the impact on consumer prices.

In this Law360 article, McDermott’s Alexandra Lewis, Glenna Siegel and Joel Grosberg discuss the implications of the ruling and what it might mean for other industries.

Access the article.

Alexandra Lewis
Alexandra Lewis focuses her practice on antitrust and competition law, including antitrust litigation and compliance matters, as well as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions. Alexandra’s experience includes working on ongoing investigations into price fixing, bid rigging, insider trading, sale of unregistered securities and corresponding litigation matters. Alexandra also conducts research on issues in antitrust law and criminal law and procedure. Read Alexandra Lewis's full bio. 


Joel R. Grosberg
Joel R. Grosberg defends clients on mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Department of Justice, state antitrust authorities, foreign competition authorities, as well as on antitrust litigation. Joel has significant experience in the high tech, chemical, health care and life sciences industries, including counseling on matters related to pricing and distribution practices and other competition-related issues. Read Joel Grosberg's full bio.

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