Paramount Global is close to announcing a sale of its publisher Simon & Schuster to private investment giant KKR, according to a person familiar with the situation. Timing is always fluid but a deal could be announced as early as today. Paramount will report second-quarter earnings this afternoon. It’s the second deal for the storied publisher. A previous agreement to sell the book publisher to Bertelsmann’s Penguin Random House was blocked by U.S. regulators last year for being anticompetitive — a ruling that was upheld by a federal judge. A transaction with KKR wouldn’t face the same hurdles. HarperCollins, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., was also a suitor.
Private equity firm KKR & Co. has agreed to buy a significant stake in FGS Global in a deal that values the financial communications group at about $1.4 billion. As part of the deal, KKR will buy up a 30% stake from senior employees at FGS Global and its largest investors, including London-based advertising giant WPP. WPP, which was founded by Martin Sorrell, will retain a majority stake in FGS Global.