Bloomsbury Publishing Plc announces that it has completed the purchase of the members’ interests of ABC-CLIO LLC. The consideration is $22.9 million (£17.3 million), of which $22.3 million (£16.8 million) has been satisfied in cash on completion and up to $0.6 million (£0.5 million) will be satisfied in cash post completion. ABC-CLIO is an established academic publisher of reference, nonfiction, online curriculum and professional development materials in both print and digital formats for schools, academic libraries and public libraries, primarily in the USA. Founded in 1955, ABC-CLIO is based in Santa Barbara, California. ABC-CLIO has four imprints and 32 databases that provide curriculum-aligned content and lesson plans, professional development support and student activities to US schools and academic institutions. It has more than 23,000 titles in its portfolio.

Learning technology company HMH and NWEA, a not-for-profit, research and educational services organization serving K-12 students, announced today they have signed an agreement for HMH to acquire NWEA. Upon closing, NWEA will operate as a division of HMH, with its current offerings, including its flagship assessment—MAP Growth—remaining under the NWEA brand. NWEA assessment solutions will be integrated with HMH curriculum on HMH’s platform to create a combined offering that links interim assessment to instruction. HMH is a portfolio company of Veritas Capital, a private investment firm that focuses on companies that provide technology and technology-enabled solutions to government and commercial customers worldwide. By combining NWEA’s assessments with HMH’s curriculum, HMH is expected to deliver a holistic solution for educators that helps them understand how students are growing academically and what areas need the most focus to maximize that growth. Most importantly, this solution will turn insights from assessments into content recommendations that help teachers address student-specific skill gaps and advance student learning.

Meredith Corporation announced that it will raise the rate base of quarterly magazine The Magnolia Journal to 1.2 million beginning with the Spring 2018 issue. "The Magnolia Journal has been one of the most successful launches in the history of the magazine industry," said Meredith Magazine President Doug Olson. "In just a year we've generated 1 million paid subscribers. On newsstands, The Magnolia Journal has averaged nearly a 70 percent sell-through rate, compared to the industry average of 25 percent. And advertisers are clamoring to be in its pages. The Magnolia Journal is a home run in every sense of the word." Click Read More below for additional information.