Reporting results for their fiscal first quarter, McGraw-Hill’s education division rose 1.5 percent to $317 million, with a reduced operating loss of $61.8 million. Higher ed, professional and international sales rose over 8 percent to $206 million due to “surging sales of digital products,” but school education sales fell 9 percent to $112 million. Those digital gains included “double-digit revenue increases” from “e-books, online courses and online homework management assessment products for students.”Release Brand management group Iconix has bought United Media Licensings from the E.W. Scripps Company for $175 million. As part of the deal, Iconiz has created a partnership […]
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People, Etc.
Nigel Roby, managing director of UK trade magazine The Bookseller, has reached an agreement “in principle” to buy the property from Nielsen. The magazine says that “negotiations are expected to conclude at the end of April. All the editorial, sales and marketing and events teams will remain in place.” At Wiley, Steve Miron is being promoted to svp of the STMS (scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly) division, effective May 1. He has been chief operating officer there since the announcement last October that Eric Swanson will retire in October 2010. Until that time, Swanson will serve as svp, government relations […]
Market News: Wiley Insiders Sell, and BN Speculation
Wiley ceo William Pesce , cfo/coo Ellis Cousens and seven other company “insiders” have been selling options and shares now that the publisher’s stock is on a roll. They’ve sold about $14 million worth of shares in all over the past five months, “more shares than in any comparable period in the last twenty years, according to data from The Washington Service,” the WSJ reports. Pesce exercised options and sold shares for about $5.5 million in proceeds, while Cousens collected about $2.5 million in proceeds. Spokesperson Susan Spilka told the WSJ that “the company does not undertake to explain the […]
Borders May Try to Raise New Equity, While Paying Steep Interest On New Loan
Borders filed details on their new credit agreements with the SEC along with filing their formal quarterly report. They disclose that the new $90 million term loan carries a minimum interest rate of 14.75 percent. Additionally, Borders needs to raise at least $25 million from the sale of new stock shares by May 15, or else there will be a $10 million reserve against the borrowing base of that term loan. (Even with yesterday’s sharp rise in the stock, Borders still has a current total market cap of about $150 million.) Good old Pershing Square is protected in the case […]
More from Borders
Borders management provided a few additional details on their status in a conference call with investors this morning following yesterday’s refinancing and fourth quarter results. But more formal details about their performance and the details of their new debt agreements will come later today when they file their 8-K with the SEC. CFO Mark Bierly said there should be “not that many” Borders superstores likely to close in the coming year. “We do have some stores that will come up for renewal” and the company “will continue to have active dialogue” with landlords over those locations. He admitted that “overall […]
Borders Finishes With A More Profitable Quarter, Even As Sales Fall Over 13%
With new financing in place, Borders also reported fourth quarter and full-year earnings. The company made $59.9 million (91 cents a share) from continuing operations in the final quarter, much improved from $28.9 million (48 cents a share) a year ago, though adjusted EBITDA fell from $132.6 million to $91.3 million. Their debt net of cash at the end of the quarter was $245 million, a $37.6 million reduction from a year ago. Comp-store sales were about as horrible as their holiday report indicated, down 14 percent in the Borders superstores, also declining 14.4 percent for the full year. Fourth […]