Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt

Heather Fletcher is senior content editor with Target Marketing.

The big challenge of tech in education isn’t just getting the gadgets out there. It’s actually using them to foster learning. And in that regard the news isn’t all good. From Business Reporter in the U.K., via Ingram’s Wayne Keegan on LinkedIn: “Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s survey” of U.S. educators “found that 97 per cent use digital content, while more than […]

The post ‘Nearly all American educators are using digital content’—but the news isn’t all good appeared first on TeleRead: News and views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics.

While Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's recent acquisitions have taken the Boston company outside of the realm of traditional publishing and into businesses like computer games and data analytics, HMH usually doesn't stray far from the classroom.

This strategy of acquiring education-related technologies played out again this week as HMH completed its purchase of Channel One News, a New York-based provider of news shows aimed at kids and packaged to be aired in schools. Much of the video content is often accompanied with educational resources such as transcripts, quizzes and writing exercises.

Publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has had a decent reception in its return to the public markets, with a solid gain since its November 2013 initial public offering. The company was a victim of the changes sweeping the book-publishing business, including a shift to digital distribution delivered via e-readers and tablets, which has generally led to lower product pricing and profit compression for publishers. After a trip through bankruptcy court in 2012, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has reemerged more focused and lighter, having rid itself of close to $3 billion in debt. So, is it a worthwhile play for investors?

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, which is a leading global publisher of educational content, primarily K-12, announced terms for its IPO on Friday. The Boston, MA-based company plans to raise $274 million by offering 18.3 million shares (100% insider) at a price range of $14 to $16. At the midpoint of the proposed range, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt would command a fully diluted market value of $2.1 billion.

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