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SOFTWARE INDUSTRY NEWS |
Blackboard to acquire Elluminate and Wimba for $116 million |
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Blackboard Inc. has said that it entered into definitive agreements to acquire both Elluminate, Inc. and Wimba, Inc., two providers of synchronous learning and collaboration technology to the education markets, for a total of approximately $116 million in cash, excluding transaction costs and subject to certain adjustments.  These teams and solutions together will form Blackboard Collaborate, the newest standalone platform in the Company's family of education solutions. Blackboard, combined with teams from Elluminate and Wimba, will pursue greater innovation to meet growing needs in the area of synchronous learning and collaboration, including continued support for integrations with open source applications and other commercial learning management systems (LMS). Elluminate and Wimba offer advanced virtual classroom technology that allows education institutions to hold synchronous live courses over the Web, including audio, video, white board and social learning capabilities. The technologies are used to supplement traditional courses, support full distance learning courses and facilitate a variety of other collaborative interactions including virtual office hours, team meetings, professional development, student projects and mentoring and tutoring opportunities. Together, Elluminate and Wimba serve more than 2,600 institutions in the U.S. K-12, U.S. higher education, international and professional education markets. Elluminate, headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, was founded in 2000 and employs approximately 140 people serving over 1,900 K-12 and higher education clients throughout the US and 80 other countries. Wimba, headquartered in New York, NY, was founded in 1998 and employs around 100 people, who serve over 700 K-12 and higher education clients throughout the US and 27 other countries. Blackboard said it expects the combined Elluminate and Wimba transactions to contribute approximately $6 million to its full year revenue, assuming the anticipated early August closing date for the acquisitions. |
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