Scholastic Agrees Buy 9 Story Media Group For $186 Mln

(RTTNews) - Scholastic Corp. (SCHL), a children's publishing, education and media company, Tuesday announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 9 Story Media Group for $186 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, Scholastic will acquire 100 percent of the economic interest and a minority of voting rights in 9 Story Media Group, a creator, producer and distributor that produced animated series like Clifford the Big Red Dog, A Kind of Spark and Eva the Owlet.

Further, founding CEO Vince Commisso and 9 Story leadership team will join Scholastic.

With this agreement, Scholastic is hoping to expand its footprint and build global franchises on every platform. It also expects the transaction to provide long-term earnings accretion.

The deal will be funded from the available cash and its revolving credit facility. It expects to maintain its regular dividend and its authorized stock repurchase program as well.

According to Scholastic, 9 Story recorded around $104 million in revenues for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2023.

The transaction is expected to close in Scholastic's fiscal 2025 first quarter, which begins on June 1.

In pre-market activity, Scholastic shares are trading at $40.29, up 1.85% on the Nasdaq.