Dive Brief:

• Macmillan Science and Education is set to merge a most of the businesses under its umbrella with Springer Science+Business Media under an agreement by Holtzbrinck Publishing Group announced Friday.
• The resulting group, which will be operated by Holtzbrinck and Springer owners BC Partners, will have 13,000 employees and an estimated €1.5 billion ($1.75 billion) in sales, reports EdSurge.
• The deal does not include Macmillan New Ventures, Digital Science and Digital Education or its portfolio of edtech companies, or any of the company's businesses in US higher ed.

Dive Insight:

What the deal does include: Macmillan Education Language Learning, Macmillan Education Schools, Palgrave, and "Nature" and "Scientific American" publisher Nature Publishing Group. The deal comes at a time when educational publishers, like publishers at large, are contending with transitions to an increasingly digital market. The lower cost of digital textbooks and open educational resources have presented a challenge in recent years to the ed market, where textbooks in both K-12 and higher ed traditionally carry hefty price tags.

Once the deal closes around the middle of 2015, Holtzbrinck will control a 53% share. Additionally, an IPO is reportedly expected within the next 3 years.