Which U.S. textbook publishers did Robert Maxwell acquire and when?
Executive summary
Robert Maxwell’s U.S. textbook holdings centered on his 1988–89 acquisitions and deals: he bought Macmillan Inc. in 1988 for roughly $2.6 billion and acquired Science Research Associates (SRA) from IBM in mid‑1988 for about $150 million; he then put Macmillan’s K–12 and vocational units into a 1989 joint venture with McGraw‑Hill that made a combined textbook business the nation’s second largest (combined sales reported roughly $440–480 million) [1] [2] [3] [4]. Available sources do not mention other specific U.S. textbook publishers Maxwell bought beyond Macmillan and Science Research Associates [5] [6].
1. The Macmillan headline: Maxwell’s big U.S. bet
Maxwell’s marquee U.S. move was the purchase of Macmillan Inc.; reporting says he paid about $2.6 billion and that the takeover made Macmillan the central U.S. vehicle for his education‑publishing ambitions [1] [5]. After that acquisition, Macmillan’s school publishing operations — including imprints such as Glencoe, Barnell Loft, and Benziger — were merged into a joint operation with McGraw‑Hill in 1989, and McGraw‑Hill later took full ownership of the combined Macmillan/McGraw‑Hill school unit in 1993 following Maxwell’s death [4] [1].
2. The SRA purchase: textbooks plus tests and vocational materials
In June 1988 Maxwell announced the purchase of Science Research Associates (SRA) from IBM for about $150 million; SRA was a major publisher of educational and training materials, vocational tests and college textbooks, and Maxwell framed the deal as a way to strengthen educational testing and professional publishing offerings [2]. Contemporary coverage emphasized SRA’s Chicago base and workforce of more than 500 employees and framed the acquisition as a direct move into U.S. school and vocational publishing [2].
3. The McGraw‑Hill joint venture and “standstill” deal
Rather than simply accumulating competitors, Maxwell combined Macmillan’s elementary, secondary and vocational education units with McGraw‑Hill’s to form Macmillan/McGraw‑Hill School Publishing Co. in 1989; the two businesses had combined sales reported in sources at roughly $440 million (Los Angeles Times figure) to $480 million (Oklahoman figure), making the venture the nation’s second‑largest textbook publisher behind Harcourt at the time [1] [3]. The McGraw‑Hill agreement included a standstill that constrained Maxwell’s ability to pursue hostile takeovers of McGraw‑Hill [1] [3].
4. What happened after Maxwell’s death — divestitures and McGraw‑Hill control
After Robert Maxwell died in 1991, Macmillan’s parent company began selling properties and the joint Macmillan/McGraw‑Hill school unit ultimately passed into full McGraw‑Hill ownership in 1993, according to company histories [4]. Reporting and later fact checks note that Maxwell’s holdings were liquidated or transferred in the years immediately following his death and bankruptcy of his holding company, diminishing any ongoing Maxwell family involvement in U.S. textbook publishing [4] [6].
5. Public record, legal aftermath, and why the timeline matters
Teachers’ litigation and settlements in the 1990s involved Macmillan, McGraw‑Hill and “the former holdings of the late publisher Robert Maxwell,” showing that Maxwell’s acquisitions and the later corporate reshuffling had practical consequences for authors and rights holders [7]. Fact‑checking accounts have since clarified that Maxwell’s joint venture with McGraw‑Hill dated to 1989 and that McGraw‑Hill became sole owner years later; contemporary articles and retrospectives repeat the 1988–89 window as the decisive period for his U.S. textbook expansion [2] [1] [6].
6. Limitations, open questions, and competing descriptions
Available sources clearly name Macmillan Inc. and Science Research Associates as the key U.S. textbook assets Maxwell acquired in 1988–89 and document the 1989 Macmillan/McGraw‑Hill joint venture [2] [1] [3]. Sources diverge slightly on sales figures for the joint venture (reported as $440 million and $480 million) and on fine‑grained timing of later disposals; comprehensive lists of every small imprint Maxwell controlled in the U.S. are not provided in the current reporting and therefore not asserted here [1] [3] [4]. Available sources do not mention other specific U.S. textbook publishers Maxwell purchased beyond Macmillan and SRA [5] [6].
Bottom line: Maxwell’s U.S. textbook footprint was built by the 1988 SRA purchase and the 1988–89 Macmillan takeover and the immediate 1989 joint venture with McGraw‑Hill; the combined school publishing entity was the focal point and was later absorbed fully by McGraw‑Hill after Maxwell’s death [2] [1] [4].