PublishersLunch
Following on a widely cited report from the
WSJ that News Corp was considering splitting off its publishing division --
including HarperCollins -- from the rest of its business, the company
confirmed that "it is considering a restructuring to separate its business
into two distinct publicly traded companies," with the
NYT adding that further news about the possible spinoff could come as soon
as this week.
While the move has been speculated about
for several years, more seriously since the phone-hacking scandal broke open
last summer, company ceo Rupert Murdoch has apparently and "recently
warmed to the idea", which would still leave him and his family
effectively in charge of both divisions as separate entities. News Corp stock
rose more than 7 percent in early morning trading on the news.
For the first three quarters of fiscal
2012, the publishing division earned $6.2 billion in revenue and $458 million
in profit (as compared to the $4.2 billion in overall News Corp profit.) It's
no longer known exactly how much HarperCollins contributes to the bottom line,
since News Corp stopped breaking out the numbers a couple of years ago, but the
publishing house stated it had a "terrific quarter" for the period
ending March 31, with digital revenues increasing to nearly 18 percent of the
overall business. News Corp also mentioned that HarperCollins contributed to
"improved conditions" for the publishing segment. However, HC's bid
to buy Thomas Nelson for approximately $200 million last October has still not
closed yet, a company spokesperson told us.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt said late last
week that it had exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy, one day after federal court
approved the company's restructuring plan and a little over a month after
filing the pre-packaged bankruptcy on May 21. "We have achieved our
financial restructuring objectives and moved through this process quickly and
successfully," HMH president and ceo Linda Zecher said in a
statement. "Now we have emerged with significantly less debt, a much
improved balance sheet and capital structure and the financial strength to
invest in new products and innovative digital education solutions to grow our
business for the benefit of our customers. Our emergence reflects the
dedication of our team and the strong support of our investors and lenders to
position HMH for long-term success."
No comments:
Post a Comment