As indicated recently by Reuters, McGraw-Hill Education did indeed file preliminary paperwork with the SEC last week to launch an IPO, probably before the end of the year. For filing purposes they use a placeholder value of $100 million, though the actual offering is expected to look to raise up to five times that amount in actual proceeds. For the first six months of 2015 MHE had sales of $670 million, with a net loss of -$256 million. In 2014, the company had sales of $1.856 billion and a loss of -$331 million. As of June 30, the company carried […]
Finance
McGraw-Hill Education Said to Hire Underwriters for End-of-Year IPO
Consistent with reports from this spring — and rumors from 2014 — McGraw-Hill Education’s private equity owners Apollo Global Management look to be moving ahead with plans for an IPO. “People familiar with the matter” tell Reuters the company has hired Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley as lead underwriters and “expects to launch the IPO at the end of the year” following back-to-school sales. The market will determine the company’s value, but the leakers continue to assert a range of between $5 billion and $6 billion, including debt — which continues to sound aggressive until proven otherwise. Apollo bought the company in […]
People
At the American Booksellers Association, Gen de Botton has joined the organization in the new position of program and development coordinator, supporting all publisher-related programs and initiatives. She worked at Borders and then the children’s bookstore Little Joe’s in Katonah, NY. Additionally, Teresa Pereira Neufeld has joined ABA as a part-time graphic designer. Emi Battaglia has launched Emi Battaglia Public Relations, “a full service publicity, marketing and literary consultation firm.” Most recently she was recently director of marketing and publicity at Regan Arts. Scholastic Education announced “three key appointments to leadership” as they expand to serve Learning Supports and Family and Community Engagement (FACE) programs nationwide. Joining the company are […]
Books-A-Million Proxy Shows Andersons Rejected A Higher Outside Bid
Books-a-Million has filed a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC in advance of a special shareholders’ meeting to vote on the Anderson family’s offer to buy out the stock they do not own for $3.25 a share (valuing the entire company at $50 million). A date for the meeting has not been set yet. The filing provides the first comprehensive and honest look at a company that has been in play at least since 2011 and also explains why there have been just a few potential buyers over the years. (Something like 40 percent of the company’s value is attributed to […]
People, Etc.
At the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Jennifer Rofe has been promoted to senior agent. Marissa Litak has joined Sourcebooks as an assistant publicist. Previously, she was editorial assistant at Rhetoric Society Quarterly. The new issue of Poets & Writers magazine has Michael Szczerban interviewing at length 37 Ink founder Dawn Davis: “The truth is, we spend so much of our time advocating internally for our books, making sure we have the right cover, the right subtitle, filling out forms and so forth, that we often don’t have time to be entrepreneurial. But when a moment of clarity comes, it’s fun to pursue […]
“Core” Harper Ends Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Down Slightly, News Corp. Takes Big Charge on Amplify
News Corp. reported results for their fourth quarter and full fiscal year, ending June 30, on Wednesday after the close of the market. HarperCollins had sales of $390 million, up 8 percent from $361 million a year ago and EBITDA of $33 million in the fourth quarter, flat compared to the same period last year. But in “adjusted” sales, leaving aside Harlequin’s results, Harper sales fell 9 percent in the final quarter, down $33 million to $328 million, and EBITDA fell 18 percent, down $6 million, to $27 million. Harlequin added $73 million in sales for the quarter, and foreign exchange provided […]