French media conglomerate Vivendi Universal has said it will buy US textbook publisher Houghton Mifflin for about $2.2 billion in a bid to become a top global publisher of education materials.
Paris-based Vivendi said in a statement today that it would pay $60 per share in cash for Boston-based Houghton Mifflin, whose stock closed on yesterday at $54.56 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The deal also includes the assumption of about $500 million in Houghton Mifflin debt.