Last week's announcement that Holtzbrinck's U.S. businesses have been rebranded Macmillan restored a name that had once been among the most prominent in American publishing, including a long run as an independent, publicly traded company. The demise of Macmillan—and its name—began in 1988 when the company became the target of corporate raider Robert Maxwell. The chart at left shows how the Macmillan name became dispersed among several U.S. companies.
Holtzbrinck will use Macmillan as the corporate umbrella for both its trade and college publishing operations; Audio Renaissance is now Macmillan Audio; and its distribution group, Von Holtzbrinck Publishers Services, has been rebranded MPS. McGraw-Hill will continue to use the Macmillan name on products sold through its Macmillan/McGraw-Hill pre-kindergarten through elementary school division.
| Source: Reed Business Information | ||
| 1989: | Maxwell forms joint venture with McGraw-Hill, combining the two companies' elhi operations in the Macmillan/McGraw-Hill group. | |
| 1993: | Following Maxwell's death in 1991, Paramount acquires Macmillan and integrates it into Simon & Schuster. Also that year, McGraw-Hill acquired total ownership of Macmillan/McGraw-Hill. | |
| 1998: | Pearson acquires S&S's educational and professional publishing operations from Viacom. The deal includes the Macmillan name, though some former Macmillan trade imprints, such as Scribner and Atheneum Books for Young Readers, remain at S&S. | |
| 1999: | Pearson sells Macmillan General Reference Group to IDG Books, and sells Macmillan Library Reference Group to Thomson. | |
| 2001: | John Wiley acquires IDG Books, which had been renamed Hungry Minds. | |
| 2007: | Holtzbrinck acquires Macmillan name for its U.S. subsidiary. | |
