Mcgraw-hill to hire evercore for education unit advice

McGraw-Hill Cos., the owner of Standard & Poor’s, hired Evercore Partners Inc. to advise on a possible separation of its education unit, the company’s largest by revenue, people with knowledge of the move said today.

Evercore was hired in March to review whether a separation of its education business makes sense, and if so, whether it should be sold, spun off or offered in an initial share sale, said one of the people, who declined to be named because the discussions haven’t been made public.

The 123-year-old publishing and finance company said in June it would conduct a review of the company and hired Morgan Stanley to help sell its broadcast business. New York-based McGraw-Hill also hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for advice on strategy, people familiar with that arrangement said earlier this month. Shareholder Jana Partners LLC, a New York hedge fund, met with McGraw-Hill management in July to seek ways to boost shareholder value.

Patti Rockenwagner, a spokeswoman for McGraw-Hill, declined to comment, as did as a spokesman for New York-based Evercore.

The education unit accounted for 39 percent of McGraw- Hill’s 2010 revenue, while contributing only 23 percent of its profit, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Jana and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, whose shares are managed by Jana, together own a 5.2 percent stake in McGraw- Hill.

McGraw-Hill, based in New York, rose 46 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $39.27 at 2:16 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares had risen 6.6 percent this year before today.