Pearson Completes Acquisition of Harcourt Assessment

On January 30, 2008, Pearson plc, the international education and information company, completed the acquisition of the Harcourt Assessment and Harcourt Education International businesses from Reed Elsevier for a total cash consideration of $950 million.

Pearson is the global leader in educational publishing, assessment, information and services and its other primary businesses include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group. Harcourt Assessment, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is a leader in testing and performance measurement services for educational and clinical use. Harcourt Education International, headquartered in Oxford, UK, is a leading publisher of educational materials in international markets, including the UK, South Africa, Botswana, Australia and New Zealand. Reed Elsevier is a provider of global information-driven services and solutions.

Pearson was represented in the UK by Herbert Smith LLP with a team that included James Palmer and Andrew Warner (corporate); in the United States by Morgan, Lewis and Bockius LLP with a team that included Rob Dickey and Sharon Purcell (corporate); and in Canada by Borden Ladner Gervais LLP with a team that included Paul Mingay (corporate), Adam Fanaki (competition and Investment Canada), Larissa Tkachenko (tax), Mike Fitzgibbon (employment), Sonia Mak (pensions/benefits) and Shaunik Katyal (corporate).

Reed Elsevier was represented in the UK by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer with a team led by Julian Long (corporate) that included Michael Hilton and Neeshe Patel (corporate), Jonathan Cooklin and Jenny Doak (tax), David Aitman, Martin McElwee and Simon Constantine (antitrust competition and trade), Mark Wheelhouse and Matthew Beniston (real estate), Justin Watts and Karen Brown (IP/IT), Dan Schaffer (pensions) and Nicholas Squire (employment), Andrew Murphy, Will Dineley and Angela Harth (employment pensions and benefits); and in Canada by Goodmans LLP with a team led by Susan Garvie (corporate) that included Jana Steele (pensions/benefits) and Jeff Shore (real estate) and Joe Morrison (labour) and in tax matters by Carl MacArthur of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP.

Lawyer(s)

Susan A. Garvie Larissa V. Tkachenko Carl D. MacArthur Jana Rae Steele Sonia T. Mak Shaunik Katyal Paul A.D. Mingay Michael P. Fitzgibbon Joe Morrison Jeffrey Shore Adam F. Fanaki

Firm(s)

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG) Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP Goodmans LLP Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP