DISRUPTED: All this talk of "disruption" in edtech circles may finally be breaking down long-time walls: Boston-based Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has taken the first steps to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to Reuters. The beleaguered educational publisher, reportedly suffering from a "lagging textbook market," reached a deal with more than 70 percent of its creditors to cut $3.1 billion in debt. Smarter folks than us, however, have also noted that HMH's precursor (Ireland's Education Media and Publishing Group, which owned Riverdeep) at one point was snapping up every relevant asset in sight (Harcourt, Houghton Miflin). The evolution of e-books may have hurt, but many of HMH's wounds were self-inflicted. The NYTimes quotes HMH president and chief executive, Linda K. Zecher, saying that despite the bankrupcy filing, business at the company will continue "as usual."
