COMPANY NEWS; VIVENDI FINISHES SALE OF HOUGHTON MIFFLIN TO INVESTORS

The French media company Vivendi Universal said yesterday that it had completed its sale of the publishing house Houghton Mifflin to a group of private investors for $1.28 billion. Under the deal, the investment groups Thomas H. Lee and Bain Capital, both based in Boston, are also assuming $380 million of Vivendi's debt. Houghton Mifflin, which is based in Boston, publishes a range of educational textbooks. Vivendi purchased the company in 2001 for $2.2 billion, including debt. Two other firms, the Blackstone Group and Apax Partners, which are based in New York, had planned to join an investor consortium buying Houghton Mifflin when the deal was first announced in October, but they did not sign the final sale agreement last month.