Paul Allen raises stake in Click2learn.com
By Martin Wolk
SEATTLE, Oct 12 (Reuters) - A day after unveiling a new
corporate identity, Click2learn.com Inc. on Tuesday said it had
received $10 million in private equity funding from company
founder Paul Allen and a unit of Credit Suisse First Boston.
The funding from Allen's Vulcan Ventures and Marshall
Capital Management "will allow us to further our efforts in
marketing, sales and engineering" to become a leader in
business education and training, Chief Executive Officer Jim
Billmaier said.
Billmaier said the cash infusion would give the company a
total of $25 million in the bank and no debt, causing existing
shareholders an unspecified "slight dilution."
On Monday the company said it had changed its name to
Click2learn.com from Asymetrix Learning Systems Inc. to reflect
the growing importance of its new Internet portal focused on
education and training for business professionals.
"The name change really does reflect what we think is going
to be the leading component of our strategy going forward,"
Billmaier said in an interview. "We want to provide a great
buying experience for corporations or individuals that want to
acquire training or educational content offline and online."
Before the latest investment, Allen held a 42.5 percent
stake in Asymetrix, the first company he founded after leaving
active management at Microsoft Corp., which he co-founded with
Bill Gates.
Asymetrix, founded as a technology company in 1985, began
focusing about five years ago on business training and
education, a $70 billion market in the United States alone,
Billmaier said.
The new education portal features online training courses
and education resources including books, videos, cassettes and
software. Click2learn gets a percentage of any fee-based
transactions.
The company also has forged alliances with Go2Net Inc.
and VerticalNet Inc. to integrate the
click2learn portal. The site can be customized for corporate
intranets, he said.
Shares of Click2learn.com stood at 9-7/16 ahead of
Tuesday's market open after rising 1-1/16 on Monday.
((-- Seattle bureau, 206-386-4848; marty.wolk@reuters.com)) |
