Scholastic Corp. has entered into a definitive agreement with Lagardere Group to purchase publisher Grolier Inc. for $400 million in cash.
The acquisition is expected to increase Scholastic’s projected operating income by approximately 30%, the company said.
Plans call for Grolier to remain headquartered at its current location in Danbury, CT. No staff reductions are expected “for the time being,” spokeswoman Judy Corman of Scholastic said last night. The company employs about 2,000 people worldwide.
Brian Beckwith will remain as president and COO of Grolier, Corman said.
Grolier, whose annual revenue is in the $450 million range, operates in three main areas: the U.S. direct mail-to-home and e-commerce book clubs for children through age 5 and the online and print publisher of children’s reference products. Grolier also publishes trade books under the Orchard Books, Children’s Press and Franklin Watts imprints.
As first reported by DIRECT Newsline last December, Paris-based Lagardere Group, the parent company of Grolier, had begun considering the possibility of a sale after conducting an assessment of its assets as part of an annual review process. By January, the company had initiated exploratory steps to sell Grolier.
Grolier was established as The Grolier Society in 1895.
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