Note (2018): After operating as an independent publisher for over a century, Heinemann went through a succession of sales from 1985, when it was purchased by Octopus Publishing Group. Octopus itself was published by Reed Elsevier (then Reed International) in 1987. Random House bought Heinemann's trade publishing in 1997, and have operated the name as an imprint since that date. (The educational and American branches of the company are owned by Pearson and Houghton Mifflin, respectively.)