UK retailer WH Smith is buying Jacksonville, FL-based travel electronics retailer InMotion for $198 million. InMotion sells electronics including headphones, earbuds, mobile power and portable speakers at 43 US airports, further expanding WH Smith’s growing travel division. Perhaps more significantly, WH Smith says the acquisition will “support the launch and growth of WH Smith’s airport format in North America,” signaling their intention to become a bigger player here. InMotion will operate as a subsidiary of WH Smith. They are forecasting 2017 sales of $166 million, and the deal is expected to close by year end. Separately, ss Penguin Random House […]
M&A
Wiley Buys Learning House for $200 Million
Wiley announced Tuesday it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire education services provider Learning House from Weld North Holdings for $200 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close on or around November 1. The Louisville, KY-based Learning House provides online program management (OPM) services for colleges and universities, along with professional development services for teachers; and learning solutions for corporate clients. 2018 sales for the unit are expected to be roughly $70 million, up 17 percent from last year. Wiley ceo Brian Napack says in the announcement, “Learning House is a dynamic growth company and we are thrilled […]
Kaplan to Swallow Barron’s Test Books
Kaplan Test Prep has acquired key assets of longtime rival Barron’s Educational Series, including the test prep, study aid, and foreign language assets, as well as the Barron’s brand name. The acquisition comprises about 650 of Barron’s more than 2,000 titles, also including their reference, business, and law titles. As Newsday notes, “The purchase combines two of the oldest and best-known brands in educational services and test-prep books in a market that is becoming increasingly competitive.” Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Following the merger, Kaplan’s new assets will still carry the Barron name, operating as a distinct brand. […]
Quarto Has Better Sales, Still with Big Loss; Bertelsmann to Buy OnCourse Learning
Quarto reported half-year results, with sales showing some improvement, as revenues rose $6 million to $56.2 million. Some of that gain reflects a shift in the “seasonal split of co-edition revenues, with a higher percentage than normal of expected full-year revenues achieved in the first half.” Their operating loss of ($7 million) was slightly improved from last year’s ($7.6 million), though the after tax loss of ($6.7 million) was higher than last year’s ($5.2 million), and is a poor result by any objective measure. The company’s lightly-traded stock is headed towards a new all-time low following the news. Though not […]
Houghton to Sell Riverside Assessments
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will reap a welcome cash infusion with the sale of their Riverside Assessments division to private equity firm Alpine Investors for $140 million. HMH plans to invest the $135 million cash proceeds “in its Extensions businesses, supporting its strategy to create integrated solutions and improve student outcomes.” The deal is expected to close “early in the fourth quarter.” Alpine is adding Riverside’s clinical and standardized testing business to a portfolio that already includes Woodcock-Johnson family, the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT), Iowa Assessments and others. HMH says it is retaining “assessment solutions critical to effective differentiation of classroom instruction, including Reading Inventory, Math Inventory, Phonics Inventory and Reading […]
Acquisitions: HBG Buys Worthy Publishing, As Insight Editions Buys Weldon Owen
Hachette Book Group has agreed to acquire the assets of Nashville, TN-based Christian publisher Worthy Publishing. When the deal is finalized, Worthy will become part of Hachette’s Nashville publishing division. Worthy publishes across categories including inspiration, fiction, Bible study, current events, devotion, leadership, biography, and personal growth. Their fall list includes Mike Huckabee’s new book, Rare, Medium or Done Well and a new fiction series from Jerry Jenkins. Hachette Nashville publisher Rolf Zettersten says in the announcement: “I have the utmost respect for the experience, instincts, and insights of Byron Williamson and his team, and I know that adding Hachette […]