Wolters Kluwer sale
Wolters Kluwer’s education business is for sale with the deal being managed by Lehman Bros. Lehman were originally appointed to conduct a strategic review of the education division but it now seems that a sale is the most likely outcome. WK’s education sales in 2005 were €309m (£207m). There had been some speculation that Lehman would recommend the various education businesses within WWK, such as Nelson Thornes in the UK, be sold off individually. However, it is now thought that WK and Lehman are looking to sell the whole company.
Potential buyers include the usual suspects such as Reed Elsevier and Pearson, but also Informa (whch recently rejected a bid from Springer) and SanonaWSOY, the Finnish media company, which has recently restructured its fast growing Education and Book division. Both Reed and Pearson would probably face regulatory issues in Europe over any proposed takeover, but these are likely to be far less onerous than if they bid for Thomson Learning’s US businesses.