In a virtual meeting with literary agents, Penguin Random House CEO Markus Dohle announced that competitive bidding for projects would be allowed between PRH and Simon & Schuster (S&S) once the merger between them is completed. Penguin Random House’s parent company, Bertelsmann, reached a deal to buy S&S for $2.2 billion. Traditionally, once publishing houses merge their editors are no longer permitted to compete amongst each other for projects. This move will keep more options available for biographers shopping for publishing deals.