Riverdeep

Infobox_Company
company_name = Houghton Mifflin Inc.
company_
company_type = Private
parent =
owner =
foundation = 1995
location_city = Boston, MA and Dublin
location_country = USA, Ireland
key_people = | num_employees =
industry = CD-ROM software internet
products =
revenue =
operating_income =
homepage = [http://www.hmlt.hmco.com]

Riverdeep Interactive Learning originally started as a publishing house for educational online and CD-ROM products based in San Francisco and Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1995, Riverdeep is principally the creation of 37-year-old ex-investment banker Barry O'Callaghan. O'Callaghan is Riverdeep's CEO and controlling shareholder. [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/article1265256.ece]

Riverdeep's growth has been characterized primarily by [http://www.riverdeep.net/about_us/corporate.jhtml acquisition] , followed by a gradual laying off of staff, and ultimately republishing the best known titles.

In October 2002, Riverdeep became a private entity when their stock price plummeted below $2 in NASDAQ. [http://www.rte.ie/business/2002/1001/riverdeep.html RTÉ Business: Riverdeep to de-list from Nasdaq ] ]

On September 20, 2004, Riverdeep moved its Novato office to 100 Pine Street in San Francisco.

Houghton Mifflin

On December 22, 2006, it was announced that Riverdeep PLC had completed its acquisition of Houghton Mifflin. The new joint enterprise would be called the Houghton Mifflin Riverdeep Group. Riverdeep paid 1.75 billion in cash and assumed $1.61 billion in debt from the private investment firms Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Capital Partners and The Blackstone Group. [http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/12/22/irish_company_completes_houghton_mifflin_acquisition/ Irish company completes Houghton Mifflin acquisition - Boston.com ] ] Tony Lucki, a former non-executive director of Riverdeep, will remain in his position as Houghton Mifflin's chief executive officer. HM Rivergroup indicated it wanted to capitalize on the "convergence of print and digital education platforms."

The Houghton Mifflin Learning Technology vision is that adoptions and larger contracts are requiring the winner to provide a solution that integrates both core curriculum and supplemental content, while also providing pacing calendars, curriculum and lesson planners (with content accessible from the planner), differentiated instruction, single sign-on, flexible print/online content with capabilities to change the lesson sequence and to fragment content, and content accessible from the district portal. [http://academicbiz.typepad.com/piloted/education_business/index.html Riverdeep 2007] ]

Reed Elsevier

In July, 2007, Reed Elsevier (an information and publishing group) offloaded Harcourt US Schools Education business to Houghton Mifflin, Inc. for $4.0 billion, with $3.7 billion payable in cash and $0.3 billion payable in common stock of Houghton Mifflin, Inc. [http://www.reed-elsevier.com/index.cfm?articleid=2110 Reed Elsevier - Reed Elsevier announces sale of Harcourt US Schools Education Business to Houghton Mifflin Riverdeep Group for $4.0 billion ] ]

Houghton Mifflin is privately held. Existing investors put up $23 million of equity financing to help to meet the $3.7 billion cash requirement for the purchase. Reed is also taking a $300 million stake in Houghton Mifflin, Inc., which will leave it with an 11.8 per cent of the common stock in the enlarged company. [http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/07/16/reed_close_to_selling_harcourt_sources/ Houghton Mifflin to buy Harcourt - Boston.com ] ]

The combined business will be led by Tony Lucki. "Together, we will be better positioned to meet the changing needs of educators and students in a wider range of subjects, states and school districts," Lucki said. [http://www.hmco.com/company/investors/invest/ir_release_071607.html Houghton Mifflin Company > Investors ] ]

This positions the now named Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and the main rival to Pearson in the global education publishing market. [http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article2087580.ece Reed accepts pre-emptive bid for US educational business - Times Online ] ] If approved, the market will be dominated by three publishers: Pearson PLC , McGraw-Hill Cos. Inc. and Houghton Mifflin.

References

External links

* [http://www.riverdeep.com/ Corporate website]