McGraw-Hill Closes Sale Of Education Unit To Apollo Global

(RTTNews.com) - Information services provider The McGraw-Hill Cos. (MHP) Friday completed the $2.4 billion sale of its McGraw-Hill Education business to investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management LLC ( APO ). The deal was initially announced in November.

Looking ahead, McGraw-Hill Cos. said the company will be renamed McGraw Hill Financial, subject to shareholder approval, in the second quarter of this year. The company will be a high-growth, high-margin entity serving the global capital and commodity markets.

McGraw-Hill Cos. said it is using a portion of the about $1.9 billion in after tax proceeds from the sale to pay down short-term debt, in part driven by the special dividend paid in 2012, to resume share repurchases and to make selective tuck-in acquisitions.

"Consistent with our commitment to maximizing shareholder value, McGraw Hill Financial expects to continue to return cash to shareholders and to invest for growth," said Harold McGraw III, chairman and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Cos.

"We have successfully completed our Growth and Value Plan, which had as its cornerstone the separation of our financial information and education businesses," added McGraw.

In February 12, McGraw-Hill Cos. introduced 2013 revenue guidance of high single-digit growth and adjusted earnings per share guidance of $3.10 to $3.20, about a 15% increase from 2012 adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations.

Analysts currently expect earnings of $3.18 per share on revenues of $4.82 billion for 2013.

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