Scholastic sells continuities division

Scholastic Corp. has entered into a definitive agreement with Sandvik AS to purchase its US direct-to-home continuities business.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Scholastic expects to close the sale in the first quarter of fiscal 2009.

Sandvik AS is a Norway-based company whose primary line of business is operating children's book clubs, using e-mail and the Internet to reach its target audience of parents with children up to age 7.

Last month, when it reported fiscal year 2008 financial results, Scholastic also said that it shut down its school-based continuities business effective May 31.

For the fiscal year ended May 31, Scholastic had revenue from continuing operations of $2,205.6 million, up 15% from the prior year.

The company also said it had made several investments during the year to achieve ongoing revenue and profit growth going forward, including building and testing a second generation online selling platform for School Books Club, which will launch in fiscal 2009. The company also developed a multiplatform adventure series, The 39 Clues, which combines books, collectible cards, online games and an interactive Web site.

In 2008, Scholastic committed to exit “the unprofitable continuities division in order to focus on building relationships to homes through our profitable clubs, fairs and online businesses,” said Richard Robinson, chairman, CEO and president of Scholastic, in a statement from last month.