Cengage Learning, Inc. announced Monday morning that it has reached an agreement with its major financial stakeholders and creditors that will allow it to emerge from Chapter 11 within several months. The agreement, which still needs court approval, will eliminate more than $4 billion of Cengage’s approximately $5.8 billion of outstanding debt. Cengage, the publisher of educational content and software for the academic, professional and library markets worldwide, filed for bankruptcy last July.
Under terms of the settlement, Cengage Learning will also receive exit financing of approximately $1.75 billion to $2.0 billion. In addition, Cengage’s current first lien lenders will receive a “substantial majority of the equity of the reorganized company,” Cengage said and second lien creditors and unsecured creditors will share in $225 million in cash or stock based on the total value of Cengage of $3.6 billion. More details of the agreement will be released as part of an amended plan of reorganization that is expected to be filed “in the near term.”
In a statement, Michael Hansen, CEO of Cengage, said, “We are pleased to have reached this agreement and gained the support of all of Cengage Learning’s most significant creditors for our Plan of Reorganization, giving us a clear path to the successful completion of our financial restructuring. Under the Plan, Cengage Learning will have a new capital structure with a substantially stronger balance sheet and greater financial flexibility to accelerate our growth. We are excited about the opportunities resulting from the ongoing transformation of our business to digital products and services and the high-quality educational content we are providing to our users and customers.”
