Source: Thomson
The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC - News; TSX: TOC), a leading global provider of information services to business and professional customers, today announced that it has signed definitive agreements with funds advised by Apax Partners (Apax) and OMERS Capital Partners (OMERS) under which such funds will acquire the higher education, careers and library reference assets of Thomson Learning, and a consortium of funds advised by OMERS and Apax will acquire Nelson Canada, for a combined total value of approximately $7.75 billion in cash.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year and is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
The higher education, careers and library reference assets include such well-known brands and businesses as: Wadsworth, Delmar Learning, Gale, Heinle, Brooks/Cole and South-Western. Nelson Canada, a leading provider of books and online resources for the educational market in Canada, will be majority-owned by OMERS.
This sale is part of Thomson's previously announced strategy to sell the assets of its Learning business to enable Thomson to pursue opportunities better aligned with its growth strategy and business model. On October 25, 2006, Thomson announced its intention to sell its Thomson Learning businesses, including those serving the higher education, careers, library reference, corporate e-learning and e-testing markets, via three independent sales processes.
Morgan Stanley and RBC Capital Markets are financial advisors to Thomson on the sale. Evercore Partners Incorporated and Atlas Advisors are financial advisors to Apax and OMERS on the acquisition. Acquisition finance was provided by The Royal Bank of Scotland, JPMorgan, Citigroup, UBS and The Royal Bank of Canada.