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Monday, September 12, 2011

McGraw-Hill to split into two listed companies, (NYSE: MHP)

McGraw-Hill Cos Inc (MHP.N), agreeing to investor demands, said on Monday it will divide itself into a markets data company that includes its Standard & Poor's ratings businesses and an education company for textbook publishing. The breakup of the mini-conglomerate follows public demands starting in July from the Ontario Teacher's Pension Fund and hedge fund Jana Partners LLC for a broad reorganization. The activists suggested breaking up the company into more than two pieces to highlight the value of its individual equities, commodities and financial analytics units. "It's a first step," said Pat English, chief executive of Fiduciary Management Inc, a large holder of McGraw-Hill shares, who argues for a more radical plan. "It doesn't make sense to have S&P Credit Ratings, S&P Indices, Capital IQ, Platts and other information companies under one roof," English wrote in an e-mail. See Breakingviews column:

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. is a global information services provider serving the financial, education and business information markets, such as energy, automotive, construction, aerospace and defense, broadcasting and marketing/research information services. Shares of MHP traded higher by 3.98% or $1.54/share to $40.26. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $29.43 and as high as $45.47. On average, 2817930 shares of MHP exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 4441804.



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