Markus Dohle stepped down from his role as chief executive of Penguin Random House, the publisher’s parent company, Bertelsmann, announced on Friday.

As the head of the largest publisher in the country, Dohle oversaw the attempted acquisition of Simon & Schuster, a deal the Justice Department sued to stop on antitrust grounds.

The government won the case at the end of October, a ruling that cost Penguin Random House and Bertelsmann more than $200 million.

Bertelsmann said that Nihar Malaviya, the chief operating officer of the publisher’s United States division, will become interim chief executive in January.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.