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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American
publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Boston Financial District. It was formerly known as Houghton Mifflin Company, but it changed its name following the 2007 acquisition of Harcourt Publishing. Prior to March 2010, it was a subsidiary of Education Media and Publishing Group Limited, an Irish-owned holding company registered in the
Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...
and formerly known as
Riverdeep Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Learning Technology, originally started as Riverdeep Interactive Learning, is a publishing house for educational online and CD-ROM products based in San Francisco, Boston and Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1995, Riverdeep wa ...
.


History


Ticknor and Allen, 1832

In 1832, William Ticknor and John Allen purchased a bookselling business in Boston and began to involve themselves in publishing;
James T. Fields James Thomas Fields (December 31, 1817 – April 24, 1881) was an American publisher, editor, and poet. His business, Ticknor and Fields, was a notable publishing house in 19th century Boston. Biography Early life and family He was born in ...
joined as a partner in 1843. Fields and Ticknor gradually gathered an impressive list of writers, including
Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a cham ...
,
Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...
, and
Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and h ...
. The duo formed a close relationship with Riverside Press, a Boston printing company owned by
Henry Oscar Houghton Henry Oscar Houghton (; April 30, 1823 – August 25, 1895) was an American publisher, co-founder of Houghton Mifflin, and a mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Biography Houghton was born into a poor family in Sutton, Vermont. At age thirteen, ...
. Houghton also founded his own publishing company with partner Melancthon Hurd in 1864, with George H. Mifflin joining the partnership in 1872. In 1878,
Ticknor and Fields Ticknor and Fields was an American publishing company based in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded as a bookstore in 1832, the business would publish many 19th century American authors including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James, ...
, now under the leadership of
James R. Osgood James Ripley Osgood (1836–1892) was an American publisher in Boston. He was involved with the publishing company that became Houghton Mifflin. Life and work James Ripley Osgood was born in Fryeburg, Maine, on February 22, 1836. A reputed child ...
, found itself in financial difficulties and merged its operations with Hurd and Houghton. The new partnership, named Houghton, Osgood and Company, and based in Boston's Winthrop Square, held the rights to the literary works of both publishers. When Osgood left the firm two years later, the business reemerged as Houghton, Mifflin and Company. Despite a lucrative partnership with Lawson Valentine, Houghton, Mifflin and Company still had debt it had inherited from Ticknor and Fields, so it decided to add partners. In 1884, James D. Hurd, the son of Melancthon Hurd, became a partner. In 1888, three others became partners as well: James Murray Kay, Thurlow Weed Barnes, and Henry Oscar Houghton Jr. Shortly thereafter, the company established an Educational Department, and from 1891 to 1908, sales of educational materials increased by 500 percent. The firm incorporated in 1908, changing its name to Houghton Mifflin Company. Soon after 1916, Houghton Mifflin became involved in publishing
standardized test A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predete ...
s and testing materials, working closely with such test developers as E. F. Lindquist. By 1921, the company was the fourth-largest educational publisher in the United States. In 1961, Houghton Mifflin famously passed on Julia Child's ''
Mastering the Art of French Cooking ''Mastering the Art of French Cooking'' is a two-volume French cookbook written by Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, both from France, and Julia Child, who was from the United States. The book was written for the American market and publishe ...
'', giving it up to
Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers i ...
who published it in 1962. It became an overnight success, and is considered by many to be the bible of French cooking. Houghton Mifflin's strategic error was depicted in the 2009 film ''
Julie & Julia ''Julie & Julia'' is a 2009 American biographical comedy-drama film written and directed by Nora Ephron starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, and Chris Messina. The film contrasts the life of chef Julia Child in the early years of her ...
''. In 1967, Houghton Mifflin became a publicly traded company on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...
under the stock symbol . In 1979, Houghton Mifflin acquired the complete catalog of ''Parnassus Press'', a Berkeley, California small press, established in 1957 by Herman Schein, the husband of writer-illustrator Ruth Robbins. Works by authors included:
Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...
, Theodora Kroeber, Nicolas Sidjakov,
Edward Ormondroyd Edward Ormondroyd (born 8 October 1925) is an American writer of children's books. He is best known for '' David and the Phoenix'', a fantasy novel. His time travel novel ''Time at the Top'' was filmed for television in 1999. Ormondroyd was bo ...
,
Charlotte Zolotow Charlotte Zolotow (born Charlotte Gertrude Shapiro; June 26, 1915 – November 19, 2013) was an American writer, poet, editor, and publisher of many books for children. She wrote about 70 picture book texts. The writers she edited include Paul Fl ...
,
Anne B. Fisher Anne Benson Fisher (February 1, 1898 – March 5, 1967) was an American writer of fiction and non-fiction whose primary emphasis was California. Her two most significant works were her novel ''Cathedral in the Sun'' (1940) and her contribution t ...
,
Allen Say Allen Say (born James Allen Koichi Moriwaki Seii in 1937; surname written in Japanese) is a Japanese-American writer and illustrator. He is best known for '' Grandfather's Journey'', a children's picture book detailing his grandfather's voyage f ...
,
Beverly Cleary Beverly Atlee Cleary (née Bunn; April 12, 1916March 25, 2021) was an American writer of children's and young adult fiction. One of America's most successful authors, 91 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide since her first b ...
,
Crawford Kilian Crawford Kilian (born February 7, 1941) is a Canadian novelist and a college professor. He is also the former public education columnist for the Vancouver Province newspaper. Kilian holds an undergraduate degree from Columbia University and master ...
,
Adrien Stoutenburg Adrien Stoutenburg (December 1, 1916 – April 14, 1982) was an American poet and a prolific writer of juvenile literature. Her poetry collection ''Heroes, Advise Us'' was the 1964 Lamont Poetry Selection. Life Stoutenburg was born in Darfur, ...
, and
Sam DeWitt Samuel Aaron DeWitt (November 1, 1891 – January 22, 1963) was a businessman, poet, playwright, and politician. He was a New York State Legislator who represented Bronx's 7th district from 1919 until his expulsion from the assembly in 1920 d ...
. In 1979, Houghton Mifflin acquired Clarion Books, the children's division of Seabury Press. In 1980, Houghton Mifflin acquired the educational publishing operations of
Rand McNally Rand McNally is an American technology and publishing company that provides mapping, software and hardware for consumer electronics, commercial transportation and education markets. The company is headquartered in Chicago, with a distribution c ...
. Under (new from 1991) president Nader F. Darehshori Houghton Mifflin acquired
McDougal Littell Holt McDougal is an American publishing company, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, that specializes in textbooks for use in high schools. The Holt name is derived from that of U.S. publisher Henry Holt (1840–1926), co-founder of the e ...
in 1994, for $138 million, an educational publisher of secondary school materials, and the following year acquired
D.C. Heath and Company D.C. Heath and Company was an American publishing company located at 125 Spring Street in Lexington, Massachusetts, specializing in textbooks. History The company was founded in Boston by Edwin Ginn and Daniel Collamore Heath in 1885.D.C Heath ...
, a publisher of supplemental educational resources. In 1995, the company acquired Chapters Publishing, a publisher of cooking, garden, and craft titles. In 1996, the company created their Great Source Education Group to combine the supplemental material product lines of their School Division, McDougal Littell, and Heath. In 1998, HMH announced a sub-brand called LOGAL Software, which was to release a new line of interactive science software called '' Science Gateways'', to support the United States curriculum. As of 2017, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is offering the "Logal Science" brand as a licensing opportunity on its website. In 2017, it was announced that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt would be getting involved in TV production with a planned 2019 Netflix series that will revive the ''
Carmen Sandiego ''Carmen Sandiego'' (sometimes referred to as ''Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'') is a media franchise based on a series of computer games created by the American software company Broderbund. While the original 1985 '' Where in the World ...
'' franchise.


Mergers and acquisitions activities, 2001–

Mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspec ...
(M&A) activities have had major effects on this company.


Vivendi purchase

In 2001, Houghton Mifflin was acquired by French media giant
Vivendi Universal Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...
for $2.2 billion, including assumed debt. Vivendi Universal already owned the British children's publisher Kingfisher, which became a Houghton Mifflin imprint. In 2002, facing mounting financial and legal pressures, Vivendi sold Houghton to private equity investors
Thomas H. Lee Partners Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. is an American private equity firm based in Boston investing in middle market growth companies across financial technology and services, healthcare and technology & business solutions. History Founded in 1974 by ...
,
Bain Capital Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry se ...
, and
Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate bu ...
for $1.66 billion, including assumed debt (approximately 25% less than Vivendi had paid a year earlier).


Riverdeep merger with 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, and Blackstone Group. Tony Lucki, a former non-executive director of Riverdeep, remained in his position as the company's chief executive officer until April 2009. Houghton Mifflin sold its professional testing unit, Promissor, to
Pearson plc Pearson plc is a British multinational publishing and education company headquartered in London, England. It was founded as a construction business in the 1840s but switched to publishing in the 1920s. Spender, J. A., ''Weetman Pearson: F ...
in 2006. The company combined its remaining assessment products within Riverside Publishing, including San Francisco-based Edusoft.


Harcourt merger

On July 16, 2007, Houghton Mifflin Riverdeep announced that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Harcourt Education, Harcourt Trade, and Greenwood-Heinemann divisions of
Reed Elsevier RELX plc (pronounced "Rel-ex") is a British multinational information and analytics company headquartered in London, England. Its businesses provide scientific, technical and medical information and analytics; legal information and analytics; ...
for $4 billion. The expanded company would become Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. McDougal Littell was merged with Harcourt's Holt, Rinehart & Winston to form
Holt McDougal Holt McDougal is an American publishing company, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, that specializes in textbooks for use in high schools. The Holt name is derived from that of U.S. publisher Henry Holt (1840–1926), co-founder of the e ...
. In October 2007, Houghton Mifflin sold Kingfisher to
Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...
. On December 3, 2007,
Cengage Learning Cengage Group is an American educational content, technology, and services company for the higher education, K-12, professional, and library markets. It operates in more than 20 countries around the world.(Jun 27, 2014Global Publishing Leader ...
(formerly Thomson Learning) announced that it had agreed to acquire the assets of the Houghton Mifflin College Division for $750 million, pending regulatory approval. On November 25, 2008, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced a temporary freeze on acquisition of new trade division titles, allegedly in response to the
economic crisis of 2008 The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
. The publisher of the trade division resigned, apparently in protest. Many observers familiar with the publishing industry saw the move as a devastating blunder. Harcourt Religion was sold to
Our Sunday Visitor Our Sunday Visitor (OSV) is a Catholic publishing company in Huntington, Indiana, which prints the American national weekly newspaper of that name, as well as numerous Catholic periodicals, religious books, pamphlets, catechetical materials, i ...
in 2009.


Houghton Mifflin Harcourt restructuring

On July 27, 2009, the ''
Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
'' newspaper reported that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's controlling shareholder
EMPG Education Media and Publishing Group, more commonly known as EMPG, is a holding company registered in the Cayman Islands with no operating subsidiaries. It also has a minority interest in an affiliate that focuses on markets outside the USA cal ...
was in the process of a re-structuring negotiations with its unsecured-debt holders that would lead to the conversion of the debt into equity. The news story reported that the unsecured debt holders would receive a 45% equity stake. As a result, the royal family of Dubai via their
Istithmar World Istithmar World ("istithmar" (Arabic) for "investment" (English)) is an investment firm based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). This company is a state-run business owned by Dubai World, a Dubai government-owned company, and was establishe ...
Capital investment vehicle became major stakeholders. Estimates were that EMPG would cut its debt from $7.3bn to $6.1bn. On August 15, 2009, the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' reported in an interview with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's CEO at the time, Barry O'Callaghan, that the refinancing had received approval of more than 90% of lenders. The terms included the holding company debt converting into 45% of the fully diluted common equity, an effective 25 percent relaxation of financial covenants, second lien lenders agreeing to convert their holdings into a PIK instrument, reducing annual interest costs by $100m, and a further $50m increase its working capital facility.


Second round restructuring

A further restructuring of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's debts was confirmed by the company on January 13, 2010. The proposed restructuring materially impacted the shareholders of
EMPG Education Media and Publishing Group, more commonly known as EMPG, is a holding company registered in the Cayman Islands with no operating subsidiaries. It also has a minority interest in an affiliate that focuses on markets outside the USA cal ...
, the former holding company of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Potential wipe out of EMPG's shareholders


Recapitalization in 2010

On February 22, 2010, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced that EMPG and HMH had reached an agreement to restructure the finances of the company and recapitalize its balance sheet with a substantial fresh cash investment by institutional investors. The agreement, supported by 100% of HMH's creditors, highlighted a reduction in the senior debt to $3 billion from the current $5 billion, with new equity issued to the senior debt holders (including Paulson & Co. and Guggenheim Partners), conversion of the $2 billion mezzanine debt into equity and warrant, receipt of $650m of new cash from the sale of new equity. In addition to the key highlights, HMH announced its new $100m Innovation Fund, to invest in the next generation of technology for the education industry. The ''Irish Times'' reported that the investments by the then equity holders of EMPG, including HMH's CEO at the time,
Barry O'Callaghan Barry O'Callaghan (born 1969) is a business executive and financier. Currently he is the Chairman and CEO of Rise Global. He formerly led Riverdeep for a decade, later known as EMPG and HMH. He grew the small educational software company into th ...
, private clients of Davy Stockbrokers, Reed Elsevier, and others of over $3.5 billion would be written down to zero. Additionally, the Irish Independent reported that following the restructuring, the investors of EMPG would have a nominal investment in Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via warrants over 5% of the company if it exceeded the $10 billion valuation placed on the company at the time of the merger between Houghton Mifflin Riverdeep and Harcourt. In addition to the warrants in HMH, the EMPG shareholders would continue to own a stake in the international investment vehicle,
EMPGI Education Media and Publishing Group International, more commonly known as EMPGI, is an education company with operations in China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Libya. EMPGI pays licensing fees to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for exclusive overseas ...
which has stakes in China, the Middle East and elsewhere. The ''Financial Times'' reported that no management changes were expected as part of the deal with both the CEO at the time,
Barry O'Callaghan Barry O'Callaghan (born 1969) is a business executive and financier. Currently he is the Chairman and CEO of Rise Global. He formerly led Riverdeep for a decade, later known as EMPG and HMH. He grew the small educational software company into th ...
and the CFO, Michael Muldowney expected to remain in their roles. The Times reported that a new nine-member board was to be created with the CEO the only executive representative, one independent, two representative of Paulson & Co, and one director from each of Apollo, BlackRock, Guggenheim Partners, Fidelity and Avenue Capital. On March 10, 2010, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced that it had completed its re-capitalization. In addition to a new investment of $650 million of equity, the debt levels of the company were reduced by approximately 60% and the annual interest payments by over 75%. According to the Irish State Broadcaster,
RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, whil ...
, the old equity investors based in Ireland has lost all their investment. The ''
Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
'' reported that the old shareholders were denied a shareholders meeting to vote or discuss the restructuring. The former shareholders have been left with warrants over 5% of the company, in the case its value recovers to previous levels. On September 19, 2011, it was announced that Linda K. Zecher would be replacing Barry O'Callahan as chief executive officer and Director of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt after O'Callahan resigned. In July 2012, Zecher detailed her plans for post-bankruptcy to D.C. Denison at The Boston Globe. Zecher went to HMH from Microsoft. In 2012, HMH acquired the culinary and reference portfolio of
John Wiley & Sons John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, i ...
, including
CliffsNotes CliffsNotes are a series of student study guides. The guides present and create literary and other works in pamphlet form or online. Detractors of the study guides claim they let students bypass reading the assigned literature. The company cla ...
and '' Webster's New World Dictionary''. The company went public in November 2013. In 2014, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt sponsored
Curious George (TV series) ''Curious George'' is an American animated children's television family comedy series based on the children's book series of the same name which features Jeff Bennett as the voice of Ted Shackelford (credited as "The Man with the Yellow Hat" --f ...
on
PBS Kids PBS Kids is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) in the United States. Some public television children's programs are not produced by PBS member stations or transmitted by PBS. Inste ...
replacing
Chuck E. Cheese Chuck E. Cheese (formerly known as Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre, Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza and simply Chuck E. Cheese's) is an American family entertainment center and pizza restaurant chain founded in 1977 by Atari's co-founder Nolan Bus ...
. On May 13, 2014, HMH bought
Channel One News Channel One News was an American news content provider. The daily news program was accompanied by commercial advertising for marketing in schools, with supplementary educational resources. The Peabody award-winning Channel One News program w ...
. In 2015, Houghton Mifflin struggled to find a charity that would accept royalties for ''
Mein Kampf (; ''My Struggle'' or ''My Battle'') is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Ge ...
'' by
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
. On February 15, 2017, John J. ("Jack") Lynch, Jr., the former CEO of Renaissance Learning, was named the new CEO of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. In 2018, HMH sold its Steck-Vaughn adult education titles to Paxen Publishing and its Riverside test publishing subsidiary to Alpine Investments.


Sale to HarperCollins

On March 29, 2021,
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
reported that
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...
, a division of American mass media and publishing company
News Corp News Corporation, stylized as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The second incarnation of the original News Corporation, it was formed on June 28, 2013, following a ...
, had reached a deal to buy HMH Books & Media for US$349 million. The sale includes HMH's trade publishing division and computer game franchises such as ''
Carmen Sandiego ''Carmen Sandiego'' (sometimes referred to as ''Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'') is a media franchise based on a series of computer games created by the American software company Broderbund. While the original 1985 '' Where in the World ...
'' and '' The Oregon Trail''. The deal would allow HMH to pay down its debt so it could further its digital-first strategy in educational publishing. The deal was completed on May 10.


Acquisition by Veritas Capital

On February 22, 2022, a
tender offer In corporate finance, a tender offer is a type of public takeover bid. The tender offer is a public, open offer or invitation (usually announced in a newspaper advertisement) by a prospective acquirer to all stockholders of a publicly traded corp ...
was announced by
Veritas Capital Veritas Capital is a New York-based private-equity firm founded in 1992 that invests in companies providing critical products and services, primarily technology-enabled products and services, to government and commercial customers worldwide. The ...
to acquire HMH at a price of $21 per share, or about $2.8 Billion. The tender deadline was originally April 1st, before being extended to April 6th on March 29th. Prior to the tender date, the stock generated a lot of hype on internet forum WallStreetBets, with over 36,000 contracts traded for the June 17th $22.5 strike price call options. Many investors purchased call options based on numerous reports from institutional investors with large stakes in the company, claiming that the $21 per share offer was undervaluing the company. On April 6th, 57% of $HMHC shares were put up for tender, leading to the tender offer going through and HMH going private. Once the sale was completed, the stock of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt was delisted from Nasdaq.


Leadership changes

On September 22, 2016, Zecher resigned from HMH and was replaced by Interim CEO and Board Member L. Gordon Crovitz. Crovitz is a former publisher of the ''Wall Street Journal''. On February 15, 2017, John J. "Jack" Lynch Jr., the former CEO of Renaissance Learning, was named the new CEO of HMH. Lynch brought former employee Jim O'Neill back to the company to lead the core division as GM and EVP.


Catalog

HMH is also home to media brands like Carmen Sandiego and The Oregon Trail; and brands including The Whole30; '' The Best American Series''; '' The American Heritage'' and '' Webster's New World Dictionaries''; '' Better Homes and Gardens''; ''
How to Cook Everything ''How To Cook Everything'' ( John Wiley & Sons, 1998, ) is a general cooking reference written by '' New York Times'' food writer Mark Bittman and aimed at United States home cooks. It is the flagship volume of a series of books that include seve ...
''; the Peterson Field Guides;
CliffsNotes CliffsNotes are a series of student study guides. The guides present and create literary and other works in pamphlet form or online. Detractors of the study guides claim they let students bypass reading the assigned literature. The company cla ...
; and many children's books, including the "
Curious George Curious George is a fictional monkey who is the title character of a series of popular children's picture books written by Margret and H. A. Rey. Various media, including films and TV shows, have been based upon the original book series. Geo ...
" series and ''
The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (french: Le Petit Prince, ) is a novella by French aristocrat, writer, and military pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 an ...
''; as well as publishing the works of J. R. R. Tolkien for United States distribution. Some other noted books include: * ''
The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which ...
'',
Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, ...
(1987) (
E-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. A ...
version)


See also

* *
Books in the United States As of 2018, several firms in the United States rank among the world's biggest publishers of books in terms of revenue: Cengage Learning, HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill Education, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, and Wiley. ...
*
McGraw-Hill Education McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes referen ...
*
Pearson Education Pearson Education is a British-owned education publishing and assessment service to schools and corporations, as well for students directly. Pearson owns educational media brands including Addison–Wesley, Peachpit, Prentice Hall, eCollege ...


References


Further reading

*


External links

*
Finding aid to the Houghton Mifflin Company letters (1859–1860) at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{Authority control
Houghton Mifflin books Houghton may refer to: Places Australia * Houghton, South Australia, a town near Adelaide * Houghton Highway, the longest bridge in Australia, between Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland * Houghton Island (Queensland) Canada * Houghton Townsh ...
Book publishing companies based in Massachusetts Companies based in Boston Private equity portfolio companies The Blackstone Group companies Publishing companies established in 1880 Education companies established in 1880 American companies established in 1880 Publishing companies of the United States Educational publishing companies of the United States Educational publishing companies Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2012 2013 initial public offerings 2022 mergers and acquisitions Privately held companies based in Massachusetts