Education Acquisitions in 2015

Kaplan, Inc., the global education services subsidiary of Graham Holdings, acquired SmartPros, Ltd., a provider of accredited professional education, subscription course libraries and proprietary LMS/AMS software. The deal (reported at about $16.9 million) folds SmartPros into Kaplan Professional Education to expand Kaplan’s accountancy, financial services and compliance training capabilities.

Frontline Technologies (Frontline Education) acquired MyLearningPlan, integrating the MyLearningPlan K-12 professional growth solution into Frontline's HR and school-administration software suite. The acquisition expands Frontline's professional development and educator evaluation capabilities for K-12 customers in the United States.

West Corporation (NASDAQ:WSTC) acquired assets from GroupCast, LLC, including the GroupCast and SchoolReach businesses, for approximately $13.5 million in cash. The SchoolReach business will be combined with West's SchoolMessenger offering as part of its Unified Communication segment; the sale was driven in part by a founding partner's planned retirement.