Washington, DC (USA), April 2010 - Blackboard has announced that it has completed its acquisition of privately-held Saf-T-Net, Inc., provider of AlertNow, a leading messaging and mass notification solution for the K-12 marketplace. The price was approximately $33 million, excluding transaction costs and subject to certain adjustments.
Headquartered in Raleigh, NC, Saf-T-Net employs approximately 65 professional staff and serves K-12 clients located throughout the U.S. With more than 2,000 K-12 clients, Saf-T-Net increases Blackboard's commitment to the K-12 market.
In addition, Saf-T-Net provides features and functionality that will enhance and accelerate development for Blackboard's own messaging and mass-notification offering, Blackboard Connect, including new Parent Portal technology, enhanced survey facilities, and multilingual capabilities. The broadened capacities and client base provides significant opportunities. There is also the potential to realize long-term infrastructure-cost benefits as a result of the increased scale from the combined operations.
Blackboard works with more than 5,000 institutions and millions of users. Its focus is on increasing the impact of education by transforming the educational experience. This includes engaging and assessing learners, making their daily lives more convenient and secure, and keeping them informed and aware. It also means giving more and more information to students on the mobile devices they prefer.
