FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German publishing group Bertelsmann <BTGGg.F> said on Monday it was acquiring U.S. online education provider OnCourse Learning from private equity firm CIP Capital for several hundred million euros.
The deal, priced in the "mid-nine-digit euro range" backs Bertelsmann's push into digital education and training - OnCourse will be folded into its Relias division - as well as boost its presence in the United States, the company said.
OnCourse Learning, founded in 2007, is based in Brookfield, Wisconsin, and employs 375 people. It provides digital corporate and advanced training courses for clients in healthcare and financial services, and has a smaller real-estate business.
"We are expanding our education business to include a company with significant growth potential," Bertelsmann's chairman and CEO, Thomas Rabe, said in a statement.
"At the same time, the transaction will further strengthen our presence in the U.S., where we already generate more than 20 percent of our revenues. In the future, we expect this share to rise to around 30 percent."
(Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Maria Sheahan)
