Bertelsmann Acquires U.S. Company WhiteCloud Analytics
- Strategic expansion of the education business
- Relias Learning strengthens data and analysis competency/expertise
- Seventh acquisition by the Bertelsmann subsidiary in recent years
Bertelsmann is strengthening its education business with another acquisition in the United States: Relias Learning, a subsidiary of the international media, service and education company, is taking over WhiteCloud Analytics, a Boise, Idaho-based company specializing in performance management in the healthcare sector. The partners have agreed to keep the purchase price confidential.
Kay Krafft, CEO of the Bertelsmann Education Group , said: “Relias Learning has grown significantly over the past few years, opening up new customer groups such as the hospital segment. The company has also advanced into new lines of business such as performance management, and simultaneously started expanding internationally. The acquisition of WhiteCloud Analytics further strengthens Relias by complementing the company’s first-class e-learning offerings with a deepening data analysis tool.”
Founded in 2009, WhiteCloud currently employs around 50 people. The company offers healthcare clients – such as hospitals – a variety of analysis solutions that allow for a data-based comparison of their own quality and costs of medical care with those of other institutions in the market, and improve them as needed. The acquisition follows last year’s takeover of the U.S. analytics provider Care Management Technologies (CMT) by Relias.
“WhiteCloud’s strength in the acute care market, combined with their performance management analytics tools, make them an ideal addition to the Relias suite of solutions,” said Jim Triandiflou, CEO of Relias Learning. “When combined with our recently announced acquisition of CMT, we are building a unique analytics solution. As a result, our clients will be able to make data-driven decisions to improve both patient care and financial performance.”
In the past few years, Relias Learning has systematically expanded its core business and entered adjacent business segments. WhiteCloud is the company’s seventh acquisition since March 2016. Acquisitions in recent months include the e-learning providers Advanced Practice Strategies, Swank Healthcare and AHC Media in the U.S., and spm in Germany. In all, the purchases have increased Relias’ customer base from 4,500 in 2015 to more than 6,000 by year-end 2016.
The acquisition of Relias Learning itself was Bertelsmann’s largest acquisition in the U.S. since the Random House takeover in 1998.
Bertelsmann is concentrating its activities in the education sector on online education with a focus on healthcare and technology, as well as education services. In the medium term, education is to be expanded into Bertelsmann’s third business mainstay alongside media and services, with revenues of approximately a billion euros.
About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a media, services and education company that operates in about 50 countries around the world. It includes the broadcaster RTL Group, the trade book publisher Penguin Random House, the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, the music company BMG, the service provider Arvato, the Bertelsmann Printing Group, the Bertelsmann Education Group and Bertelsmann Investments, an international network of funds. The company has 116,000 employees and generated revenues of €17.0 billion in the 2016 financial year. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination promotes first-class media content and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world.
About Bertelsmann Education Group
The Bertelsmann Education Group encompasses Bertelsmann’s education businesses. The group is shaping professional learning in the twenty-first century with digital education and service offerings focused on the healthcare and technology sectors, and it draws on Bertelsmann’s resources and global network. The Bertelsmann Education Group is wholly owned by Bertelsmann.
Contact
Markus Harbaum
Head of Communications Content Team
Phone: +49 (0) 5241 80 2466
