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Acquisitions (Details) $ in Thousands, EndUser in Millions, Article in Millions |  |  | 12 Months Ended |
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($) Employee Journal Article WebSite SocietyandPublisher | May 01, 2014 USD ($) Object Language EndUser Country | Apr. 30, 2017 USD ($) | Apr. 30, 2016 USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) | Apr. 30, 2015 USD ($) | May 02, 2014 USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Cash, net of cash acquired |  |  | $ 154,766 | $ 20,418 |  | $ 172,229 |
Product development assets |  |  | 99,275 | 72,126 |  |  |
Goodwill |  |  | 982,101 | 951,663 |  |  |
Revenue |  |  | 1,718,530 | 1,727,037 |  | 1,822,440 |
Operating income (loss) |  |  | 206,153 | 188,113 |  | 237,739 |
Publication Rights for Society Journals [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Business Acquisition [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Acquisition related costs |  |  | $ 34,000 | 20,000 |  | 6,000 |
Atypon Systems Inc [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Business Acquisition [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Cash, net of cash acquired | $ 121,000 |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of employees | Employee | 260 |  |  |  |  |  |
Goodwill | $ 70,000 |  |  |  |  |  |
Working capital | 3,000 |  |  |  |  |  |
Estimated useful life of intangible assets acquired |  |  | 12 years |  |  |  |
Revenue |  |  | $ 19,100 |  |  |  |
Operating income (loss) |  |  | $ (3,500) |  |  |  |
Atypon Systems Inc [Member] | Minimum [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Business Acquisition [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Revenue |  |  |  |  | $ 31,000 |  |
Atypon Systems Inc [Member] | Trademarks [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Business Acquisition [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Intangible assets | 6,000 |  |  |  |  |  |
Atypon Systems Inc [Member] | Customer Relationships [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Business Acquisition [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Intangible assets | 14,000 |  |  |  |  |  |
Atypon Systems Inc [Member] | Software [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Business Acquisition [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Product development assets | $ 28,000 |  |  |  |  |  |
Atypon Systems Inc [Member] | Literatum [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Business Acquisition [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of journals hosted | Journal | 9,000 |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of journal articles hosted | Article | 13 |  |  |  |  |  |
Percentage of World's English-language Scholarly Journals Hosted by e-publishing Platform | 33.33% |  |  |  |  |  |
Atypon Systems Inc [Member] | Literatum [Member] | Minimum [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Business Acquisition [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of publication web sites hosted | WebSite | 1,800 |  |  |  |  |  |
Number of societies and publishers hosted | SocietyandPublisher | 1,500 |  |  |  |  |  |
CrossKnowledge [Member] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Business Acquisition [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Cash, net of cash acquired |  | $ 166,000 |  |  |  |  |
Number of learning objects | Object |  | 19,000 |  |  |  |  |
Intangible assets |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ 63,000
Number of languages in which training program provided | Language |  | 17 |  |  |  |  |
Number of end-users served by enterprise | EndUser |  | 7 |  |  |  |  |
Number of countries in which enterprise serves the end users | Country |  | 80 |  |  |  |  |
Purchase price allocation, long-term deferred tax liabilities |  |  |  |  |  |  | 21,500
Purchase price allocation, technology |  |  |  |  |  |  | 6,300
Goodwill |  |  |  |  |  |  | 122,500
Negative working capital |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ 4,300
Estimated useful life of intangible assets acquired |  |  | 15 years |  |  |  |
Revenue |  |  | $ 60,100 | $ 50,700 |  | $ 42,000 |

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