The April 24 deadline for bids to acquire the AOL Time Warner Book Group came and went last week, with no definitive winner. The one known company to make a bid last week was Frank Pearl's Perseus Books Group, which made an offer that sources said was in the low-$300-million range. A spokesperson for Random House had no comment on whether they had submitted an offer.
The one surprise that emerged last week was the renewed interest of Viacom in AOLTWBG. A Viacom source said the company had asked for, and was granted, more time to develop an offer for the unit. Viacom was expected to make a decision on whether to pursue the acquisition early this week.
