3 1 jul1201_form3.txt FORM 3 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES OMB APROVAL OMB NUMBER: 3235-0104 Expires: December 31, 2001 Estimated average burden hours per response........0.5 Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(f) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (Print or Type Responses) 1. Name and Address of Reporting Person* REH Mergersub Inc. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Last) (First) (Middle) 275 Washington Street, c/o Reed Elsevier Inc. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Street) Newton MA 02458 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (City) (State) (Zip) 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) July 11, 2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. IRS or Social Security Number of Reporting Person (voluntary) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol Harcourt General, Inc. (NYSE:H) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Relationship of Reporting Person to Issuer (Check all applicable) Director X 10% Owner --- --- Officer (give title below) Other (specify below) --- --- --------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. If Amendment, Date of Original (Month/Day/Year) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line) Form filed by One Reporting Person ---- X Form filed by More than One Reporting Person ---- Table I Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security 2. Amount of Securities 3. Ownership 4. Nature of Indirect (Instr. 4) Beneficially Owned Form: Direct Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4) (D) or Indirect (Instr. 5) (I)(Instr. 5) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Common Stock, par value 70,850,215.167 shares* D $1.00 per share Series A Cumulative 570,374 shares D Convertible Stock, par value $1.00 per share
FORM 3 (continued) Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative 2. Date Exercisable 3. Title and Amount of 4. Conver- 5. Owner- 6. Nature Security (Instr. 4) and Expiration Securities Underlying sion or ship of In- Date (Month/Day/Year) Derivative Securities Exercise Form of direct ------------------------- (Instr. 4) Price of Deriv- Bene- Date Expira- ----------------------- Derivative ative ficial Exer- tion Title Amount Security Security: Owner- cisable Date or Direct ship Number (D) or (Instr. of Indirect 5) Shares (I) (Instr. 5) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Explanation of Responses: Securities were acquired pursuant to an offer dated November 8, 2000 (the "Offer") by REH Mergersub Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of Reed Elsevier Inc., a Massachusetts corporation, to purchase (i) all outstanding shares of common stock, par value $1.00 per share (the "Common Shares"), of Harcourt General, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("Harcourt"), and (ii) all outstanding shares of series A cumulative convertible stock, par value $1.00 per share (the "Preferred Shares"), of Harcourt. REH Mergersub Inc. accepted for payment 70,850,215.167 Common Shares and 570,374 Preferred Shares, in each case validly tendered and not withdrawn pursuant to the Offer and including those tendered pursuant to a guarantee of delivery. The Common Shares accepted for payment represent approximately 95% of the outstanding Common Shares of Harcourt, and the Preferred Shares accepted for payment represent approximately 82% of the outstanding Preferred Shares of Harcourt. As described in the preceding paragraph, REH Mergersub Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reed Elsevier Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reed Elsevier plc. Reed Elsevier plc., a public limited company registered in England, owns Reed Elsevier Inc. through its intermediary holding companies Reed Elsevier Holdings BV, Reed Elsevier Overseas BV and Reed Elsevier US Holdings Inc. Reed Elsevier plc is owned equally by its two parent companies, Reed International P.L.C., a public limited company registered in England, and Elsevier NV, a public limited company organized under the laws of The Netherlands. Other Reporting Persons: o Reed Elsevier Inc., 275 Washington Street , Newton, Massachusetts 02458 o Reed Elsevier U.S. Holdings Inc., 1105 North Market Street, 9th Floor, Wilmington, Delaware 19801 o Reed Elsevier Overseas BV, Van de Sande Bakhuyzenstraat 4, 1061 AG, Amsterdam, The Netherlands o Reed Elsevier Holdings BV, Van de Sande Bakhuyzenstraat 4, 1061 AG, Amsterdam, The Netherlands o Reed Elsevier plc, 25 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0EX, England o Reed International P.L.C., 25 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0EX, England o Elsevier NV, Van de Sande Bakhuyzenstraat 4, 1061 AG, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Page 2 of 2 Date of Event Requiring Statement: Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol: Harcourt General, Inc. (NYSE: H) SIGNATURES Dated: July 12, 2001 REH Mergersub Inc. By: /s/ Henry Z. Horbaczewski --------------------------------- Name: Henry Z. Horbaczewski Title: Vice President Reed Elsevier Inc. By: /s/ Henry Z. Horbaczewski --------------------------------- Name: Henry Z. Horbaczewski Title: Senior Vice President Reed Elsevier U.S. Holdings Inc. By: /s/ Henry Z. Horbaczewski --------------------------------- Name: Henry Z. Horbaczewski Title: Vice President Reed Elsevier Overseas BV By: /s/ Henry Z. Horbaczewski --------------------------------- Name: Henry Z. Horbaczewski Title: Attorney-in-Fact Reed Elsevier Holdings BV By: /s/ Henry Z. Horbaczewski --------------------------------- Name: Henry Z. Horbaczewski Title: Attorney-in-Fact Reed Elsevier plc By: /s/ Henry Z. Horbaczewski --------------------------------- Name: Henry Z. Horbaczewski Title: Attorney-in-Fact Reed International P.L.C. By: /s/ Henry Z. Horbaczewski --------------------------------- Name: Henry Z. Horbaczewski Title: Attorney-in-Fact Elsevier NV By: /s/ Henry Z. Horbaczewski --------------------------------- Name: Henry Z. Horbaczewski Title: Attorney-in-Fact