The educational publishing division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has completed its previously announced divestiture of Riverside, a clinical and standardized testing business, to the private equity firm Alpine Investors for $140 million, estimated to total $135 million after transaction fees. HMH plans to invest the proceeds in its Extensions businesses, which, the publisher said in a release, will support "its strategy to create integrated solutions and improve student outcomes."
The Riverside portfolio includes brands in the Woodcock-Johnson family, the Cognitive Abilities Test, Iowa Assessments, and the distribution of Battelle Developmental Inventory, among other assets. A number of HMH employees will join Alpine as part of the move. Riverside will remain in its current offices in Itasca, Ill.
“HMH is committed to improving outcomes for students and teachers; we believe this divestiture will allow us to sharpen our focus on that goal,” Jack Lynch, president and CEO of HMH, said when the deal was first announced. “The Riverside offerings have enduring legacies. We believe that the agreement with Alpine provides the best path forward regarding both HMH’s strategic focus and the long-term success of these products.”
The Riverside clinical and standardized testing portfolio contributed approximately $80 million in billings to HMH in 2017, according to the company.
