A proposal by college textbook giants McGraw-Hill Education and Cengage to sell off 50 titles to another publisher doesn’t do enough to resolve competition concerns, the U.K.’s competition authority said Monday.
— The deal, which the companies hope to close by May 1, is also under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department. Earlier this month, the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority found the merger would eliminate competition for college textbooks in several disciplines. To respond to those concerns, the companies offered to sell the global rights to 42 textbooks and the U.K. rights for another eight.
— Opponents of the deal say it would combine the second- and third-largest textbook publishers, shrinking the industry from four to three major players. A combined McGraw-Hill and Cengage would control about 43 percent of the market, according to research firm Simba Information, ahead of the current leader Pearson, which has about 40 percent market share. The fourth player, Wiley, controls about 7 percent.