As we noted yesterday, Education Media & Publishing Group (EMPG) –the conglomerate parent of publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt–is currently negotiating its second restructuring of the company’s debt.
According to Financial Times, the company aims to reduce $7 billion in debt to less than $3 billion in the restructuring. The process is intended to help EMPG avoid filing for bankruptcy, but investors will take a hit.
EMPG founder and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt CEO Barry O’Callaghan had this gloomy quote in the article: “Nobody has lost more on paper than I have. Obviously I’m disappointed for my fellow shareholders, but I can’t be blamed for things I can’t control, and unfortunately state budgets are things I can’t control … I looked very smart through September of 2008.”