New York, NY – March 13, 2014 – Cengage Learning, Inc., a leading global educational content, software and services company for the academic, professional and library markets, announced today that it has received confirmation of its Plan of Reorganization from the Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York, which has been overseeing the Company’s Chapter 11 proceedings following its voluntary filing on July 2, 2013. The Plan received full support from all of the company’s major stakeholders. The confirmation clears the way for Cengage Learning to emerge from its court-supervised financial restructuring as expected, within the next few weeks.
Michael Hansen, Chief Executive Officer of Cengage Learning, said, “We have made excellent progress in our financial restructuring, and, with the court approval of our Plan of Reorganization now received, we are poised to exit Chapter 11 in only a few weeks. We have used this process to establish a new capital structure with a substantially stronger balance sheet. We expect to emerge as an even more competitive and well-capitalized company, with excellent liquidity and greater financial flexibility to accelerate our growth and continue to meet the evolving needs of our users and customers.”
“We are continuing to execute our strategy of transforming Cengage Learning into the education technology leader with the best selection of high quality educational and research content, digital solutions and personalized services. We greatly appreciate the dedication and focus of our employees on this exciting journey, as well as the support we received from our key financial stakeholders, authors and business partners during the restructuring. With these efforts, Cengage Learning will be well-positioned to have a profound impact on the learning experience, creating long-term growth and profitability,” concluded Mr. Hansen.
Under the Plan, which resulted from a global settlement announced in February with the company’s major financial stakeholders and creditors, Cengage Learning will reduce its funded debt by more than $4 billion and secure $1.75 billion in new financing. It expects the Plan to become effective within the next few weeks, once all closing conditions have been met.
More information about Cengage Learning’s restructuring is available at www.cengage.com/restructuring. Court filings and claims information are available at www.cengagecaseinfo.com. Information for vendors and other interested parties is available toll‐free at +1‐800‐654‐4134.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes certain disclosures which contain “forward‐looking statements.” You can identify forward‐looking statements because they contain words such as “expects.” Forward‐looking statements are based on Cengage Learning’s current expectations and assumptions. Because forward‐looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward‐looking statements, which are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward‐looking statements are set forth in our Third Quarter Report for the three and nine months ended March 31, 2013, as amended.