Key Highlights

● Scholastic agreed to acquire Cottage Door Press for about $71 million, and its shares posted a gain on September 29.

● The deal is funded with cash and revolving credit borrowings, and closing is expected by the end of 2026.

● Cottage Door Press publishes children's books aimed at younger readers, extending Scholastic's reach into early childhood.

● The 30-year Treasury yield hit its highest since 2002, which raises the cost of revolving credit borrowings.

Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ:SCHL) climbed on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, after the children's publishing giant announced a definitive agreement to acquire Cottage Door Press for about $71 million. The shares posted a solid gain, placing Scholastic among the S&P SmallCap 600 gainers on a day when the broader market drifted lower.

The Deal

Scholastic will fund the purchase with cash and borrowings under its revolving credit facility, and the company expects the deal to close by the end of 2026. Cottage Door Press publishes children's books, particularly for younger readers, adding another imprint and catalog of titles. At about $71 million the deal is modest in size, which may help explain the warm reception. Bolt-on acquisitions paid for mainly with cash and existing credit lines typically avoid issuing new shares, so existing shareholders are not diluted. Scholastic also released quarterly results.

What Scholastic Does

Scholastic is best known as the U.S. publisher of the Harry Potter and Hunger Games books and for its school book clubs and book fairs, which put titles in front of millions of children. It also has an education business that supplies classroom materials, and an entertainment arm that develops children's programming from its intellectual property. Adding a publisher of books for very young readers fits naturally, extending its reach into the early-childhood age bracket.

Why Catalogs Matter

Publishers have been navigating changing reading habits and school budgets, which makes established children's catalogs valuable assets for companies with strong distribution through schools and retailers, as Scholastic has.

Borrowing Costs in Focus

Using a revolving credit line means borrowing costs matter. The 30-year Treasury yield reached its highest level since 2002, and the 10-year touched its highest in roughly two decades. New York Fed President John Williams said there is no need for urgency after the central bank's September meeting, and odds of an October rate hike fell to roughly a coin flip.

Yields and the Tape

The S&P 500 slipped 12.85 points, or 0.17%, to 7,670.84, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 131.59 points to 51,349.92 and the Nasdaq Composite finished nearly flat at 26,797.54. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell to 81.9 in September from 88.6 in August, its lowest reading since 2014 and below the 89.2 forecast.

The Road Ahead

The next milestone is the closing of the Cottage Door Press acquisition, expected by the end of 2026. GDP and August PCE inflation arrive on Wednesday, September 30, Nike reports on Thursday, October 1, and the September jobs report follows on Friday, October 2.