Education

E-Learning Industry Update: Blackboard Acquires ANGEL

May 13, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Blackboard Inc., a dominant company in the U.S. for e-learning tools, announced this week that it had acquired education software developer ANGEL Learning Inc.

The Indianapolis-based ANGEL’s products include learning management software and an electronic portfolio system that tracks student progress.

The $95-million deal will expand Blackboard’s client base to nearly 6,000 schools, colleges, government agencies, and corporations, according to a company statement.

The Washington-based company, which reported significant losses in revenue last year but has since seen revenues improve, said it anticipates seeing savings by combining some of the two companies’ infrastructure, sales, and administrative operations. Blackboard also hopes that ANGEL’s support services will help the combined company maintain and expand its client base, the statement said.

Is this the start of a trend toward consolidation of ed tech companies? When the textbook publishing industry began consolidating in the 1990s it snowballed to the point where just three or four major companies eventually dominated the K-12 market. Ever since, many smaller and/or newer companies have had a hard time competing.

Seems like there’s a lot of opportunity for innovation and competition in the ed-tech sector, but the poor economy might make it difficult for some companies to get started or get solid footing.

Any market watchers out there want to look into the crystal ball for us?

A version of this news article first appeared in the Digital Education blog.

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Briefly Stated: October 11, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education Briefly Stated: September 27, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
9 min read
Education Briefly Stated: September 20, 2023
Here's a look at some recent Education Week articles you may have missed.
8 min read
Education From Our Research Center What's on the Minds of Educators, in Charts
Politics, gender equity, and technology—how teachers and administrators say these issues are affecting the field.
1 min read
Stylized illustration of a pie chart
Traci Daberko for Education Week