McGraw-Hill more valuable if split in pieces, experts say  McGraw-Hill is a business that sells textbooks, rates government bonds and compiles car surveys, but industry experts believe the company will be far more profitable if it is broken up into smaller discrete units, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Though estimates vary, many experts contend McGraw-Hill could be more than 40 percent more profitable if it is sold and broken into separate businesses. Though the company has long been an American powerhouse, the recession has caused a decline in textbook sales. What's more, the positive ratings it bestowed upon subprime mortgages were shown to be ill-advised, following the financial crisis.

The company is worth a reported $11.7 billion, but its market value has fallen over the past few years, and it is now worth less than rival firms, according to the news provider.

However, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts assert the company's shareholders stand to benefit if it is broken up and its businesses are valued separately. According to estimates from the vaunted U.S. bank, McGraw-Hill shareholders could get roughly $5 billion more in a payout, should the company be broken up.

"A breakup is better," Holland & Co. chairman Michael Holland said in an interview this week. The company has "value that isn't being reflected in the market today. They just have really good brands. The CEO and the board have to consider if they want to unlock value," he added.

If McGraw-Hill were to take such a path, it would not be the first company to do so. The recession has placed an inordinate amount of pressure on businesses to increase their efficiency and achieve business cost reductions as they navigate the volatile economic landscape.

Many companies have struggled amid tepid demand for products, and McGraw-Hill has fared poorly, with subdivisions like Standard & Poor's coming under intense scrutiny in the wake of its downgrade of the U.S. government's credit rating.

The company appears to be moving closer to a break-up, with Jana Partners and Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan, which represent two of the company's minority shareholders, stating in an Securities and Exchange Commission filing they had met with company management to discuss a plan to break the company into four units, CNN reports.

Nonetheless, there is uncertainty surrounding whether the company will move forward with such plans. 
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