By Anirban Sen

NEW YORK KKR & Co Inc is in advanced talks to acquire book publisher Simon & Schuster from Paramount Global for $1.65 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

KKR was competing against News Corp-owned HarperCollins Publishers for Simon & Schuster, the source said.

Reuters reported in February that Paramount was seeking to sell Simon & Schuster for a second time, after the media company's $2.2 billion deal to sell the publisher to Penguin Random House collapsed last year because antitrust regulators sued to block the deal.

Paramount declined to comment. KKR and HarperCollins did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Wall Street Journal reported the advanced talks between KKR and Paramount earlier on Thursday.

(Reporting by Anirban Sen in New York; Additional reporting by Milana Vinn)