Barry O Callaghan

Houghton Mifflin Co., a leading educational publisher, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Harcourt Education, Harcourt Trade and Greenwood Heinemann divisions of Reed Elsevier. Houghton Mifflin will acquire the Harcourt businesses for $4 billion, which will consist of $3.7 billion in cash and $300 million in common stock of Houghton Mifflin Riverdeep Group PLC. “When Reed Elsevier announced its intention to sell the Harcourt businesses, we were thrilled to have the opportunity to combine these businesses,” said Barry O’Callaghan, the principal shareholder of Houghton Mifflin. “The addition of the Harcourt businesses to Houghton Mifflin will strengthen our position

Signs of movement toward electronic distribution in publishing continued this week as an announcement was made Wednesday that Houghton Mifflin Co. will be purchased by HM Rivergroup, a newly formed Irish private equity firm led by investor Barry O’Callaghan, for $3.4 billion, including $1.75 billion in cash. The Boston-based Houghton Mifflin, the United State’s fourth largest textbook publisher, is expected to merge with Riverdeep, a Dublin-based software maker known for its educational material. The two companies will be called Houghton Mifflin Riverdeep Group once the deal is complete, HM Rivergroup representatives said. “We are excited about the future of HM Rivergroup and the ability to [capitalize]

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