Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, a learning technology company committed to delivering connected solutions that engage learners, empower educators and improve student outcomes, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to divest HMH Books & Media, its consumer publishing business, to HarperCollins Publishers, a division of News Corp, a global, diversified media and information services company, for a cash purchase price of $349 million.

The divestiture enables HMH to focus singularly on K-12 education and accelerate growth momentum in digital sales, annual recurring revenue and free cash flow while paying down a significant portion of its debt. As part of the agreement, all HMH Books & Media employees will join HarperCollins, News Corp’s trade publishing division. HMH and News Corp will work closely to provide a smooth transition for employees, customers, authors and illustrators.

The divestiture is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.

The WilmerHale team representing Houghton Mifflin Harcourt was led by Hal Leibowitz, J.C. Minko, Nathan Moore and Victoria Peluso and included Scott Kilgore, Julie Hogan-Rodgers, Mike Bevilacqua, Jeff Johnson, Paul Jakubowski, Justin Ochs, Ben Powell, Jason Chipman and David Gold.