Blackboard reassures education customers after acquisition

Educational software maker Blackboard Inc. is being taken private for $1.64 billion in cash by an investor group led by affiliates of Providence Equity Partners, and a Blackboard official said the much-discussed purchase would not affect the company’s education customers, as the company would continue its focus on mobile learning and analytics.

Under the terms of the deal announced July 1, shareholders of Blackboard will receive $45 for each share of Blackboard they own. The investor group has also agreed to take on $130 million in Blackboard’s debt.

Blackboard’s board of directors has unanimously approved the deal, but shareholder and regulators still must approve the terms.

Blackboard’s senior management will remain in place, and the massive learning management system (LMS) company doesn’t have plans to immediately change “policy, pricing, or strategy” after its purchase by Providence, Ray Henderson, president of Blackboard’s teaching and learning division, wrote in a July 1 blog post…

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