Thomson backs out of Learning

Thomson Learning is being sold off by its parent company, Thomson Corporation, because it believes the educational information provider does not fit its overall strategy. The sale is part of a re-organisation of the Thomson information companies.

President and CEO Richard J Harrington announced the sale to the business world on 25 October. “Thomson Learning is an excellent business, but it does not fit with our long-term strategic vision,” Harrington said.

Bidding for the business will be open from 1 January 2007 and executives at the company think Thomson Corporation may net $5bn from the deal. Up for grabs are Delmar Learning, a career skills specialist; Prometric, an assessment business; Wadsworth higher education information provider; and Thomson Gale, well known in the UK for its e-books and databases.

Harrington said the company was exiting the education market because it wanted to focus on “electronic workflow solutions to business and professional markets”. Thomson Gale has not been backwards in moving technology forwards with a number of recent database launches featuring advanced search technology. Harrington is adamant, though: “The market has validated our strategy of providing workflow solutions to business and professional customers, and we will continue to build on our strengths, reframe our markets and exploit technological innovations.

“After the sale of Thomson Learning , the vast majority of our sales will come from electronic products and services, with recurring revenues that are currently growing at high rates,” Harrington said.

Thomson has already agreed to sell its e-learning division, netG, to rival Skillsoft for $285m. Thomson will now re-organise its entire information provision business into six new units: North American Legal; Financial; Scientific; International Legal and Regulatory; Tax and Accounting; and Healthcare. Until now, Healthcare was part of Thomson Scientific.

IWR contacted Thomson Learning , but no one was available for comment at the time of going to press.

www.thomsonlearning.co.uk

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