Scholastic has bought Learning Ovations, the creator of literacy screening and assessment system A2i, for an undisclosed amount. The publisher will integrate Learning Ovations’ staff and technology into Scholastic Education Solutions’ literacy platform. A2i was developed with research from educator Dr. Carol Connor and researchers at Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) and University of California, Irvine. “Carol Connor was a teachers’ teacher, dedicated both to helping every child learn to read – regardless of background, disadvantage or learning challenge – and to supporting teachers with tools that are both deeply rigorous and easy to use,” evp, president Scholastic Education […]
Finance
Berkett Details the S&S Bidders
Most of ViacomCBS executive Alex Berkett’s testimony on Monday morning was in closed session. But he confirmed for the record that the final three bidders for Simon & Schuster were PRH, Vivendi and HarperCollins. The other invited bidders in the first round were “another strategic buyer” (e.g. a company in publishing), and a financial buyer, identified as based on “relationships that we had with certain human beings at one of the private equity firms and their background in the publishing business.” (This means, presumably, Richard Sarnoff at KKR). And “there was a very small strategic buyer that had a financial […]
Pearson Sells the Last Part of their K-12 Education Business In South Africa
Pearson has finished the long-running sale of most of their K-12 education businesses around the world, with a deal to sell the South African units to Novus Holding. The total price is £53 million, and Pearson has a 75 percent share of the company. Pearson decided to retain their K-12 education businesses in Australia and English-speaking Canada. The businesses sold since 2021 had provided revenue of £252m, and £22m in adjusted operating profit. Pearson says they “achieved a blended multiple of 14.1x EV/EBITDA 2021” across the various international units sold. That’s much better than they did while unloading the big […]
Vivendi Is Ready to Spin-off Editis to Win Approval for Lagardere Acquisition
While reporting earnings on Thursday, Vivendi disclosed that it is prepared to spin off the Editis publishing group into its own separate, publicly-traded company in order to win approval from EU and French regulators to acquire Lagardere as a whole. The company said, “To avoid any potential antitrust problems due to its combination with Lagardère Group, Vivendi will study the proposed divestment of 100% of its subsidiary Editis mainly through a distribution and stock market listing.” But quotes from company executives make it clear they are well past a study. “We knew that there would be some (competition) hurdles,” Vivendi’s […]
Callisto Media Laid Off More Than a Third of Staff
Last week, Callisto Media laid off 140 employees—35 percent of their workforce—sources have confirmed to PL. The cuts were made across departments and levels, in both the New York and Oakland, CA offices. CEO Benjamin Wayne told employees in an all-staff virtual meeting on July 12 that the company, which has been trying to go public or execute a sale, was not yet profitable and it was hard to secure investors during the economic downturn. Callisto needed to reduce spending by $20 million, he said, and 140 positions would be eliminated. Wayne also said that the company would pare down […]
Private Equity Giant EQT Takes Major Stake In UTA
Swedish-based private equity firm EQT has become a large “strategic investor” in UTA, as the largest outside shareholder in the firm. They are buying out investment firm Investcorp’s full minority stake, and are also acquiring a “portion of existing stakes” from others shareholders including PSP Investments. In 2018, Investcorp and PSP Investments bought approximately 40 percent of the agency, for an estimated $200 million. Investcorp executive Dave Tayeh proclaims, “Our investment in UTA was highly successful.” The deal is expected to close later this month, and is one of the first transactions for EQT’s newest fund, which will range from […]