Providence Equity Partners to buy out Blackboard Inc for $1.64 bn
02 Jul 2011
Education software company Blackboard Inc yesterday disclosed that it would be bought by private equity firm Providence Equity Partners, a well-known investor in the education sector, for $1.64 billion in cash.
Providence is offering $45 per share which is about a 4 per cent premium to Blackboard's Thursday close of $43.39.
The company with investments mostly in media, communications, information services and education investments, would also assume about $130 million of Blackboard's debt.
Blackboard, with a market value of $1.52 billion as of Thursday, saw its 2010 revenue grow around 19 per cent to $447.3 million.
Providence has the fifth largest stake in the profit-making education company ITT Educational and is also invested in Archipelago of Learning.
It is also holds the second biggest stake in Education Management which it bought along with Goldman Sachs for $3.8 billion in 2006.
