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Bidders line up for Thomson

23.04.07

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Carlyle Group are among a group of five or six bidders chasing Thomson’s higher education publishing arm, in a deal that will set a benchmark for the sale of Reed Elsevier’s educational division, reports the Times.

The two firms are competing separately against Apax Partners, Warburg Pincus and a consortium of Blackstone, Thomas H. Lee and Bain, all of which owned Houghton Mifflin, the educational publisher, before selling last year. Bertelsmann, the German media giant, is also involved in the auction. It is thought that bids for Thomson Learning could come in at around $3.5 billion (£1.74 billion). Reed is understood to hope that the winner of the Thomson auction will consider making a swoop for its own Harcourt unit.

Final bids are due in the middle of next month, in a process that is being conducted by Morgan Stanley.

The Times

reed elsevier education Thomson Learning

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