Some interesting tidbits on the Thomson sale from around the net.

Financial Times gives a due date for final bids, as well as a hint that Pearson may acquire some Thomson assets:

Final bids are due sometime in late April to early May. Pearson would only be interested in acquiring a small part of Thomson’s learning division, the source added. Likewise, Bertelsmann’s role in the auction is a small one, according to the same source.  more>>

Globe and Mail offers the possibility that Harcourt assets may merge back with Thomson:

Analysts believe private equity firms are looking to merge Thomson Learning with Reed Elsevier’s Harcourt education business, creating a giant in textbook publishing and digital software for university professors and school teachers. more>>

Times Online offers a roundup of potential bidders (emphasis added):

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Carlyle Group are among a group of five or six bidders chasing Thomson’s higher education publishing arm, in a deal that will set a benchmark for the sale of Reed Elsevier’s educational division.

The two firms are competing separately against Apax Partners, Warburg Pincus and a consortium of Blackstone, Thomas H. Lee and Bain, all of which owned Houghton Mifflin, the educational publisher, before selling last year. It is thought that bids for Thomson Learning could come in at around $3.5 billion (£1.74 billion).

Bertelsmann, the German media giant, is also involved in the auction. It was thought to have linked up with Holtzbrinck, its fellow German publisher, but some sources say that it was trying to hook up with the Blackstone syndicate.  more>>

No idea what the culture is like at any of these companies, but I imagine life at Thomson Learning will go largely unchanged (though the focus on the bottom dollar will continue to rise in priority).

So, by June we should know who’s buying Thomson Learning, and possibly how the company will be divvied up for the sale.