Cengage Group

Cengage Group
Company type	Private
Industry	Educational publishing
Founded	2007; 19 years ago
Headquarters	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Area served	Worldwide (over 20 countries)
Key people	Michael Hansen (CEO)
Products	Educational content, technology solutions, services, digital study aids, textbooks
Number of employees	5,000
Website	www.cengage.com

Cengage Group is a U.S.-based provider of educational content, technology solutions, and services catering to the higher education, K–12, professional development, and library sectors. Its operations extend to more than 20 countries globally.

Cengage Unlimited

On December 5, 2017, Cengage introduced Cengage Unlimited, a subscription-based service that grants students semester- or year-long access to the entire digital higher education catalog instead of purchasing textbooks individually. Launched in summer 2018, it achieved its initial sales goals. The University of Missouri became the first institution to provide this subscription option to all students beginning January 2019.

History

International Thomson Publishing entered the publishing sector by acquiring Wadsworth Publishing in 1979, followed by Litton Industries’ publishing assets in 1981, which included Van Nostrand Reinhold and Delmar. It further expanded by purchasing Gale Research in 1985 and South-Western Publishing in 1986. Additional acquisitions included Course Technology in 1992 and Peterson's in 1995, while Van Nostrand Reinhold was sold to John Wiley & Sons in 1997.

In 2000, Thomson Learning was established during a restructuring of International Thomson Publishing; it acquired Harcourt’s higher education titles from Reed Elsevier as well as Arco, a test preparation publisher. Wadsworth added F.E. Peacock Publishers to its portfolio in 2002. Thomson Learning was put up for sale in October 2006 with a valuation estimated at up to $5 billion and was purchased by a private equity group (Apax Partners and OMERS Capital Partners) for $7.75 billion in 2007, subsequently rebranding as Cengage Learning. Peterson's was divested to Nelnet that same year.

In 2011, Cengage acquired the school publishing division of the National Geographic Society and integrated it with its worldwide English Language Teaching business to form the National Geographic Learning brand.

David Shaffer stepped down as chairman in September 2013 after serving in executive roles at Thomson Corporation and Thomson Learning.

Facing heavy debt from acquisitions coupled with declining print textbook sales, Cengage Learning filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 2, 2013. The company emerged from bankruptcy on April 1, 2014, having eliminated roughly $4 billion in debt and secured $1.75 billion in exit financing. Following bankruptcy proceedings, Cengage shifted emphasis toward digital study aids and educational supplements alongside traditional print textbooks and relocated its headquarters from Stamford to Boston.

In January 2015, Cengage expanded its LearnLaunch Accelerator initiative—which provides early-stage funding and mentorship for startups—to include the University of Chihuahua in Mexico.

The company simplified its name to Cengage in November 2016.

In May 2019, Cengage announced plans for a potential merger with McGraw-Hill Education aiming to create a dominant force alongside Pearson within the educational publishing industry; the combined company would operate under the McGraw-Hill brand with Michael Hansen appointed CEO. At that time, market shares were approximately: Cengage at 24%, McGraw-Hill at 21%, Pearson about 40%, and Wiley near 7%. However, the merger was called off on May 1, 2020.

In August 2021, the company adopted the name Cengage Group.

Acquisitions

Cengage has pursued a deliberate acquisition strategy to broaden its market presence and diversify its offerings. Notable acquisitions include:

Announcement Date	Acquired Asset	Sector
March 1, 2004	Education to Go	Online continuing education programs
May 16, 2008	PAL Publications	Professional reference materials
June 2, 2008	Houghton Mifflin College Division	Publishing services for two- and four-year colleges
July 17, 2008	Gatlin Education Services	Web-based instructional solutions for educational institutions
December 16, 2008	HighBeam Research	Subscription-based search engine for periodicals and newspapers
August 1, 2011	National Geographic School Publishing	Publishing for K-12 and English language learning programs
September 2015	Learning Objects, Inc.	Adaptive learning technologies and learning management systems
October 2015	Pathbrite, Inc.	ePortfolio platforms supporting education and career development
September 2016	WebAssign	Online STEM education instructional platform
March 2022	InfoSec Institute	Cybersecurity training solutions

Through these acquisitions, Cengage has enhanced its global footprint and expanded its product range across various educational markets, thereby reinforcing its competitive position within the publishing sector.

Brands/imprints

Cengage's diverse product lineup features brands such as 4LTR Press, Aplia, Cengage Learning PTR, Chilton, Education To Go, Gale, Milady, MindTap, and National Geographic Learning.

Since 2015, South-Western products have been consolidated under the Cengage Learning brand umbrella.

The introduction of Cengage Unlimited on August 1, 2018—a subscription-based software-as-a-service—marked a significant advancement in the company's digital offerings strategy.

Rankings

Based on revenue figures from 2015, Publishers Weekly positioned Cengage as the 14th largest publisher worldwide in 2016, highlighting its substantial market influence in both trade and educational publishing sectors.

External links