EMPG: Difference between revisions

Education Media and Publishing Group, more commonly known as EMPG, is a holding company registered in the Cayman Islands. Its most important subsidiary is Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, a US educational publisher, based in Boston. It also has an affiliate that focuses on markets outside the USA called EMPGI. In January 2009 the two big credit rating services, Moody's Investor Services and Standard & Poor's, reduced the rating of EMPG and warned that default on its debt was increasingly likely. On April 10th 2009 Moody's downgraded Houghton Mifflin Harcourt down to Caa3 from Caa1. In August 2009, EMPG announced that it had substantially reduced its debt, relaxed covenants and received incremental working capital facilities. On 13th January 2010, EMPG announced that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt was in renewed discussions with its creditors to further reduce its debt levels & increase working capital. It admitted that equity investors in EMPG could be wiped out as a result. The CEO, Barry O'Callaghan expects to keep his job.

On December 22, 2006, it was announced that Riverdeep PLC had completed its acquisition of Houghton Mifflin. The new joint enterprise would be called the Houghton Mifflin Riverdeep Group plc, a company baxed in Ireland. Riverdeep paid $1.75 billion in cash for the equity owned the private investment firms Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Capital and The Blackstone Group and assumed $1.61 billion in debt.^[1] Tony Lucki, a former non-executive director of Riverdeep, remained in his position as Houghton Mifflin's chief executive officer.^[2]

On July 16, 2007 Houghton Mifflin Riverdeep announced that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Harcourt Education, Harcourt Trade and Greenwood-Heinemann divisions of Reed Elsevier for $4 billion. The expanded company would become Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The holding company structure of Houghton Mifflin Riverdeep plc was re-organised with a new holding company based in the Cayman Islands created. This company is called Education Media and Publishing Group, EMPG for short.

At the time of the formation of HMH Lucki said "Together, we will be better positioned to meet the changing needs of educators and students in a wider range of subjects, states and school districts".^[3]

On November 27, 2008, President Jeremy Dickens told the New York Times that the company had $7bn of debt, which cost the company $500m per annum to service. The money to fund the 2006 Houghton Mifflin and 2007 Reed Elsevier acquisitions was borrowed, and in retrospect Education Media and Publishing Group (Riverdeep) probably overpaid for both companies. ^[4]

On December 3, 2007, Cengage Learning (formerly Thomson Learning) announced that it had agreed to acquire the assets of the Houghton Mifflin College Division for $750 million, pending regulatory approval.

The combined business was led by Tony Lucki, who had more than thirty years of publishing experience, until his replacement in April 2009 by Barry O'Callaghan, who is a 39 year-old ex-banker.

In January 2009 the two big credit rating services, Moody's Investor Services and Standard & Poor's, reduced the rating of EMPG and warned that default on its debt was increasingly likely. On April 10th 2009 Moody's downgraded Houghton Mifflin Harcourt down to Caa3 from Caa1.

In January 2009, Reed Elsevier dropped its valuation of their 11.8% stake in EMPG to just €15m. This values the group at around 5% of its original claimed worth, leaving Chairman Barry O'Callaghan with few options now that S&P rates the group CCC.^[5]

On July 27, 2009, the Irish Independent newspaper reported that was in the process of a re-structuring negotiations with its unsecured-debt holders that would lead to the conversion of the debt into equity. The news story reported that the unsecured debt holders would receive a 45% equity stake. As a result the royal family of Dubai via their Istithmar World Capital investment vehicle. ^[6] The article estimates that post deal, EMPG would cut its debt from $7.3bn to $6.1bn. On August 15, 2009, the Financial Times newspaper reported in an interview with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's CEO, Barry O'Callaghan, that the refinancing had received approval of more than 90% of lenders. The terms included the holding company debt converting into 45% of the fully diluted common equity, an effective 25 per cent relaxation of financial covenants, second lien lenders agreeing to convert their holdings into a PIK instrument, reducing annual interest costs by $100m, and a further $50m increase its working capital facility. ^[7]. Following the announcement of the debt restructuring, the President of EMPG, Jeremy Dickens, previously a lawyer at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, stepped down as President of EMPG. ^[8]

On September 12, 2009, the Irish Independent newspaper reported that a circular was posted to shareholders of EMPG with details of the restructuring, including an update on financial performance and a new management incentive plan. ^[9] In the article it stated that EMPG's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 18pc in 2008 to $750m. Although the article indicated that the outlook for 2009 is uncertain, it highlights that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has won a 52% market share in all new adoptions in the first half of 2009.

On 13th January 2010, Irish politician, George Lee^[10] , the opposition party, Fine Gael's TD for Dublin South, told journalists that EMPG has failed with equity investors likely to be wipe-out and the Irish taxpayer was exposed since the nationalized bank, Anglo Irish Bank has lent money to the shareholders of EMPG. ^[11]

George Lee commented

It has been reported to me that the education materials company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has failed, and that a number of Irish equity investors have lost significant sums of money as a result. Many of these investors were funded through large loans from Anglo Irish Bank, which is now wholly owned by Irish taxpayers.

As a company, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt was a highly leveraged operation and had very significant banking commitments. I understand that the remaining US business is to be transferred to its bond holders. However, it appears that its Irish equity investors will lose all of their investment as a result of this failure. This will have repercussions for Anglo Irish Bank, and possibly other Irish banks, and therefore the Irish taxpayer.

This incident adds further weight to Fine Gael's calls for an urgent investigation into the Irish banking crisis. Fuller details of the goings-on within Anglo Irish Bank's risky lending practices are still emerging, and this development with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt sheds further light. However, only a full, forensic investigation into the crisis will ensure that it never happens again.^[12]

EMPG confirmed that it was in advanced negotiations with its lenders about a comprehensive restructuring ,that could see a 70% reduction in the current debt levels that would lead to Paulson, a hedge fund becoming the largest shareholder. According to the Financial Times, second lien investors have not yet approved the plan which would see half of the $5bn of first-lien debt convert into circa 90% of the equity of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, with the remainding equity for the $2bn second lien investors and the old EMPG shareholders. ^[13] The Financial Times story indicates that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is considering a pre-packaged bankruptcy if the negotiations with lenders are not approved.

According to the Irish Times, investors of Davy Stockbrokers had $475m of equity in EMPG. ^[14] In contrast to the statement of George Lee that Irish taxpayers were exposed, an Anglo Irish Bank spokesperson was reported by the Irish Times to state that it did not have a “big exposure” to EMPG. However, the spokesperson did not comment on whether it has exposure to individuals that has exposure to EMPG.

Interviewed on Irish State broadcaster, RTE, Barry O'Callaghan, Chairman on EMPG and CEO of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, confirmed that irish investors as well as he himself are facing huge losses. ^[15] He stated that "no-one has lost more than me". According to the Irish Independent, Barry O'Callaghan is a large personal customer of Anglo Irish Bank. ^[11] The article states that Barry O'Callaghan may be forced to step down once the restructuring package is agreed. This is in contrast with his interview with the Financial Times where he insists that he will continue to run the business.

The now named Houghton Mifflin Harcourt alongside Pearson Education and McGraw-Hill Cos. Inc. are the leading publishers in the global education market.