The acquisition could be a sign of more consolidation to come as the top five publishing houses compete for market share in a shrinking retail environment.

“They all want more volume, and Perseus is one of the largest trophies out there,” said Mike Shatzkin, the founder and chief executive of the Idea Logical Company, which analyzes the book industry. “If you take the long view, I’d be so bold as to say we’ll have two big trade publishers 10 years from now, and no more.”

Hachette’s earlier attempt to buy Perseus faltered because of the complexity of the arrangement, which included a sale of Perseus’s books distribution business to the Ingram Content Group, a major book printer and distributor. Perseus’s distribution arm, which is separate from its publishing division, distributes books for about 600 independent publishers and brings in $300 million annually to Perseus.

Image David Steinberger, the chief executive of the Perseus Books Group, said he would leave the company after the sale of the distribution services was complete. Credit... Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times

When Hachette first tried to acquire Perseus in June 2014, it agreed to buy the entire company, then sell the distribution business to Ingram. At the time, Hachette was engulfed in a brutal fight with Amazon over e-book pricing, and the retailer had removed the buy button from some Hachette titles and delayed shipping on others. The deal between Hachette and Perseus collapsed less than two months later.

Last fall, Perseus’s board decided to explore a sale again. It hired an investment banking firm, Greenhill & Company, to advise it. The board decided to solicit offers for the entire company, but also to entertain bids from buyers who wanted just the publishing or distribution arm.

About a half-dozen serious offers came in, and Hachette immediately expressed interest in the publishing program. Perseus is also close to signing a deal on its distribution services, said David Steinberger, the president and chief executive of the Perseus Books Group.