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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Blackboard, the company that everyone loves to hate, may be subject to takeover bids. This is not an unexpected development, but it will have significant implications for higher education nonetheless. As I write this, Blackboard’s stock is up around 15 points. This means that someone, somewhere, thinks that higher education is a market worth investing in, which may be ironic for those working in the area right now, who mostly voice gloom and doom.
There are many unanswerable questions here: Who is bidding for Blackboard? Who will win the battle? What will be the path Blackboard will follow under new ownership? And what will this mean for all the upstart companies that are coming into existence expressly to challenge Blackboard?
A Blackboard acquisition will be a transformative deal. Stay tuned.
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About Joseph Esposito
I am a management consultant working primarily in the world of digital media, software, and publishing. My clients include both for-profits and not-for-profits. A good deal of my activity concerns research publishing, especially when the matter at issue has to do with the migration to digital services from a print background. Prior to setting up my consulting business, I served as CEO of three companies (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Tribal Voice, and SRI Consulting), all of which I led to successful exits. Typically I work on strategy issues, advising CEOs and Boards of Directors on direction; I also have managed a number of sticky turnarounds. Among other things, I have been the recipient of grants from the Mellon, MacArthur, and Hewlett Foundations, all concerning research into new aspects of publishing.
How about DISH Network, which just took over Blockbuster?
Posted by Sandy Thatcher | Apr 19, 2011, 2:51 pmVery interesting. One of the possible outcomes in the evolving textbook (course materials) adoption market might very well be site licensing at the institutional level. Both Cengage and Pearson have relatively new institutional sales forces along with their traditional sales forces concentrating on faculty. Blackboard is a key component in an institutional course materials licensing strategy (libraries should also be thinking along those lines).
Posted by Tom Taylor | Apr 19, 2011, 3:29 pmThat 15 point bump might be due to Blackboard’s potential in the K-12 market, which many schools are eying as a way to help defray costs of traditional schooling by offering blended/hybrid courses.
Posted by Amanda V | Apr 19, 2011, 8:42 pm