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ThirdForce PLC, a major e-learning provider to governments, schools, colleges and commercial organizations in the UK, Ireland, the Middle East and Australia, has acquired MindLeaders Inc., a leading US e-learning company, in a deal worth $18 million.
ThirdForce is a provider of IT education to the UK, where it also leads the market in the fast growing Catering and Healthcare sectors. Clients include University for Industry, ECDL, BP, Whitbread and Care UK.
Based in Ohio, USA, MindLeaders has a 25 year track record in personalized learning, offering 2000 courses to approx. 850 organisations, including blue chip brands such as Federal Express and Perot Systems, State and local government and the wider education market across the US and Canada.
The acquisition consolidates ThirdForce’s position as the largest independent* player in the UK, the world’s second largest e-learning market, with a significant presence in the US, the world’s largest market for e-learning. Its products and services now extend internationally across rapidly growing sectors including, adult education, workplace learning, schools and vocational training, from ICT courseware and testing, vocational resources, literacy and numeracy to compliance and safety in hospitality, retail and leisure.
Says ThirdForce CEO Brendan O Sullivan; “We are building a global e-learning business organically and through acquisition. Key to that process is a US presence and in Mindleaders we have found an outstanding, established and innovative US company with the right people and prospects.
We will now work hard to cascade the benefits of this merger across our impressive client base, associates and shareholders”.
Mindleaders is ThirdForce’s fourth acquisition in four years. In 2006, it added to its skills base in IT Skills and Assessment with a move into the hospitality & leisure sector with the addition of Creative Learning Media. Basic Skills specialists The Electric Paper Company Ltd and AV Edge Ltd were added in 2003. All additions have now been successfully embedded in the ThirdForce Group.
In March 2007, ThirdForce announced strong company results with a 33% boost to revenues and 51% increase in operating profits before goodwill amortisation across the Group.
About ThirdForce plc
ThirdForce is an established provider of e-learning solutions and services to over two million learners in education, government, healthcare, hospitality and commercial organisations worldwide. With offices in the UK, Ireland, Australia and Canada, the company currently employs 130 people.
ThirdForce acquired Electric Paper (EP) in 2003 and Creative Learning Media (CLM) in 2005. In 2006 EP and CLM changed their names to ThirdForce.
Under the new name, ThirdForce, the company is providing hundreds of customers with access to a wider portfolio of e-learning solutions including ICT Literacy courses such as ECDL and e-Citizen, Health and Safety training, Food Safety training, Care Induction Standards and many more. The ThirdForce products remain branded as EP and CLM and are being used in secondary schools, further education colleges, local authorities, private training providers, care homes, hotels, pubs, restaurants and leisure centres around the world.
Source: ThirdForce
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