Lounge

From another commentator: http://www.cnbc.com/id/42667338?__source=yahoo|headline|quote|text|&par=yahoo  Mentions Instructure.

Eric, maybe you are right: http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Learn/Extensions/Meet-Our-Partners/McGraw-Hill-Connect-and-Create.aspx

Interesting eh?

It was very interesting how Steve Hyndman ( aka Figaroe) who runs a Wordpress blog put the spin on it.

you can see it at http://www.educhalk.org

When  I posted a comment on Steve Hyndman's blog pointing out some things about this story that he left out, he edited my blog and changed it completely stating that I agreed with him. What a loser he is.

At least Martin was kind enough to give Steve and his buddy Marc Grober, fair time and in fact Martin was too  kind and generous with these bozos.

Anyways, here is more interesting news about the Blackboard story:

Many online learners across the nation are familiar with Blackboard, an online learning platform used by many colleges and universities to host online courses for students. Even universities who do not offer online courses have used Blackboard to supplement the traditional, campus-based courses they offer and to provide online access to course information and syllabi. The publicly-traded company announced yesterday that it has retained investment firm Barclays Capital to serve as a financial advisor and help the company evaluate its options for getting bought out. Blackboard said in a PR piece that it had received “unsolicited, nonbinding proposals” to acquire the company. It is unknown what company or other entity has submitted a proposal to buy out Blackboard, according to Inside Higher Ed. One expert ventured an opinion that a buyout of Blackboard could mean higher costs for universities using Blackboard’s software, the article noted.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/04/20/qt#257492

Blackboard, the e-learning giant, announced on Tuesday that it has received “unsolicited, non-binding proposals” to be bought out. The company, which is publicly traded, appears to be taking the offers seriously; it has retained the investment firm Barclays Capital to help it figure out whether it wants to sell. Blackboard’s stock leaped by nearly 30 percent with the news.

The entity that has proposed to acquire Blackboard is not known. Scott Berg, a research analyst with the investment bank Feltl and Company, told Inside Higher Ed he thinks it is unlikely that the suitors would be other software companies, since the software products Blackboard sells—online learning platforms, emergency notification systems, and data analytics tools, among others—would not make an obvious addition to the arsenal of any other software firm. (The only software-related companies Berg speculated might make a bid for Blackboard are Microsoft and Pearson. Neither of those companies elected to comment.) It is more likely that a potential suitor would be a private equity firm, Berg said, in which case the consequences for Blackboard’s many higher-ed customers would be difficult to predict.

Kenneth C. Green, director of the Campus Computing project, speculated that an acquisition could mean increased costs for colleges. “Blackboard has been aggressive in buying other firms,” Green wrote in an e-mail, “more than half a billion dollars in acquisitions since 2006…. That’s a lot of debt to pay down, and more debt is likely to come following an acquisition. All of which suggests that the company’s new owners will be looking for new revenue, which could well mean price increases across the range of Blackboard’s current product lines and services.”