UPDATE 1-Apollo may bid for McGraw-Hill Education-WSJ

July 13 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC is considering a bid for textbook publisher McGraw-Hill Education, which is being spun off by McGraw-Hill Cos Inc, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Apollo's team includes Peter Davis, who was president of McGraw-Hill's publishing unit from 2008 to 2010, the newspaper said.

The report, citing an executive familiar with the education business, said a sale of the textbook publishing division could fetch between $2.8 billion and $3.8 billion, though McGraw-Hill may seek $4 billion or more.

McGraw-Hill, which owns Standard & Poor's credit rating agency, outlined plans last September to divide itself into a markets data company and an education company for textbook publishing, following investor pressure.

McGraw-Hill said on Wednesday it remains on track to create the two companies by the end of the year.

Traditional book publishers are facing reduced spending by cash-strapped state and local governments, as well as increased competition from published material available online.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers Inc, whose textbooks have been used in American schools for decades, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May. The company received court approval to exit bankruptcy last month.

An Apollo spokeswoman declined to comment on the report. Jason Feuchtwanger, spokesman for McGraw-Hill Cos, also declined to comment. (Reporting by Sharanya Hrishikesh in Bangalore; Editing by Viraj Nair)