Who Owns Prentice Hall?

Prentice Hall was founded in 1913 by Charles Gerstenberg and Richard Ettinger in New York City. The company was named after the home of Gerstenberg's mother-in-law, which was located on Prentice Hall Road in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. The founders initially focused on business and economics textbooks, with Gerstenberg's own textbook on financial organization and management among the early publications.

Through the 1920s and 1930s, Prentice Hall expanded its catalog across multiple academic disciplines, building a reputation for rigorous, authoritative textbooks in business, law, and the social sciences. The company's business education titles became particularly influential, with Prentice Hall establishing itself as a leading publisher for college-level business programs.

Following World War II, Prentice Hall expanded aggressively into the growing American higher education market, which was expanding rapidly due to the GI Bill and rising college enrollment. The company published textbooks across engineering, science, mathematics, and the humanities, building one of the most comprehensive academic publishing catalogs in the United States.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Prentice Hall expanded into K-12 educational publishing, adding school-level textbooks to its higher education catalog. The company also moved into professional and reference publishing, producing legal, tax, and business reference materials alongside its academic titles.

In 1984, Gulf and Western Industries acquired Prentice Hall, bringing it under the same corporate umbrella as Simon and Schuster. Gulf and Western subsequently renamed itself Paramount Communications, and Prentice Hall became part of the Paramount publishing empire alongside Simon and Schuster's other imprints.

In 1994, Viacom acquired Paramount Communications, making Prentice Hall part of Viacom's media portfolio. Viacom subsequently decided to divest its educational and professional publishing assets to focus on its core entertainment businesses.

In 1998, Pearson plc acquired Simon and Schuster's education, reference, and professional publishing operations from Viacom for approximately $4.6 billion. The acquisition included Prentice Hall, Allyn and Bacon, Addison Wesley Longman, and other imprints, transforming Pearson into one of the world's largest educational publishers.

Under Pearson ownership, Prentice Hall's catalog was integrated into Pearson's broader educational publishing portfolio. The brand has been maintained for its established recognition in the higher education market, particularly in business, economics, and STEM disciplines. Pearson has progressively shifted Prentice Hall's content toward digital formats, with many titles now available as eTextbooks and through Pearson's digital learning platforms.

Pearson's broader digital transformation strategy, which accelerated through the 2010s and 2020s, has affected how Prentice Hall content is delivered. The company has moved toward subscription-based access models and integrated digital courseware, reducing dependence on the traditional print textbook sales cycle.