Tony Lucki

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