Blackboard Acquires Leading Alert and Notification Provider of Mass
Voice, Text, Email and SMS Messaging for Academic Institutions and
Other Organizations WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBB), a leading provider of enterprise
software and services to the education community today announced a
definitive agreement to acquire privately-held NTI Group, Inc., a
leading provider of mass messaging and notifications solutions for
educational and government organizations via voice, email, SMS, and
other text-receiving devices. Under terms of the agreement,
Blackboard will acquire NTI for $182 million subject to certain
adjustments. The purchase price will be paid $132 million in cash
and $50 million in stock. In addition, up to an additional $17
million in consideration may be paid in stock based on attainment
of certain financial targets over the two years following the close
of the acquisition. This acquisition enables Blackboard to better
help institutions address several key challenges and trends which
are taking place within the education community, namely: 1. As
online learning continues to grow and more institutions utilize the
internet to connect with traditional and virtual students, it is
becoming increasingly important to have the capability to deliver
mass communications with large populations of users across an array
of technical devices; 2. In addition, it has become imperative that
academic institutions have the ability to quickly and effectively
communicate with their entire campus constituency in the wake of a
range of school and campus tragedies, severe weather and other
safety concerns; and 3. Institutions are focusing on mobile-centric
strategies and looking to tightly integrate their learning
environments with cell phones and PDAs. In addition, this positions
Blackboard to assist Governmental agencies and municipalities which
are also increasingly expected to reach their entire constituencies
directly in an expeditious, time sensitive and cost-effective
manner in the event of serious public safety matters. The
acquisition of the NTI Group moves Blackboard into the fast-growing
alert and notification market, forecast by Yankee Group to grow to
an estimated $1.2 billion in revenue in the United States by 2011,
representing a five-year compounded average annual growth rate of
over 30 percent. The combination of Blackboard and NTI adds another
mission-critical offering to Blackboard's existing suite of
enterprise products and fulfills a key education technology
priority. The addition of NTI's Connect-ED offering will allow
Blackboard to extend its leadership in North American higher
education and establish a much more significant presence with U.S.
K-12 institutions where NTI has already established a significant
client base. NTI is located in Sherman Oaks, CA and provides
comprehensive communication services designed specifically for
academic institutions as well as local, state and federal
government entities. As of the third quarter of 2007, NTI had more
than 1,200 contracts for the Connect-ED system in the U.S. K-12
market covering more than 14,000 schools and districts. NTI had 130
contracts in the U.S. higher education market covering
approximately 200 colleges and universities. Additionally, the
Connect-CTY, Connect-GOV and Connect-MIL services provide mass
notification functionality to a fast growing number of municipal,
government and military customers. The company's mass notification
systems are designed to allow users to quickly and easily record
and send time-sensitive notifications to thousands of people in
minutes using just a computer or telephone. The NTI service
operates as a fully hosted, fully managed Application Service
Provider (ASP) / Software as a Service (SaaS); users are able to
deploy a complete messaging and notification system without
investing in, or maintaining, hardware, software, or additional
phone lines. Messages can be sent to recipients' landlines, cell
phones, PDAs/text- based devices, SMS, e-mail accounts, and TTY/TDD
devices for the hearing impaired. "Time-sensitive mass notification
systems are a top priority for global academic institutions," said
Michael Chasen, Blackboard's President and Chief Executive Officer.
"NTI is the leading provider of these systems to educational
institutions and government agencies and the addition of their
solutions is an excellent next step in the growth of Blackboard's
product portfolio. NTI expands our client base significantly and in
particular adds more than 1,200 new relationships with key IT
decision makers in the K-12 market. I believe the union of our
companies will create substantial cross- selling opportunities and
add significant shareholder value." "We are extremely pleased to
become a part of Blackboard and enhance their product offering with
our mission critical communications technology," said Robin
Richards, NTI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We believe
that we can leverage Blackboard's existing infrastructure,
geographic diversity and relationships in higher education to
efficiently expand the reach of our communications platform." Both
companies' Boards of Directors have approved the transaction.
Subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing
conditions, the transaction is expected to close in the first
quarter of 2008. The combined companies will operate under the
Blackboard name and brand with corporate headquarters located in
Washington, DC. Acquisition Benefits The combination of Blackboard
and NTI unites two innovators serving academic institutions, as
well as government and corporate clients. Key strengths expected
from the combination include: -- Combined client base of more than
4,900 K-12 schools, colleges and universities as well as a growing
presence in government organizations and corporations; -- Unmatched
depth and breadth of product offering; -- Enhanced cross-selling
opportunities to both the existing NTI and Blackboard client bases;
-- Strengthened management with extensive experience in global
education technology; and -- Increased revenue growth,
profitability and cash flow over time. Financial Details of the NTI
Acquisition NTI's business model offers many of the same financial
characteristics as Blackboard's, including an annual recurring
subscription-based licensing model, ratable revenue recognition, a
stable institutional client base and historically high renewal
rates. As a result, the combination is expected to enhance growth
and profitability over time. Blackboard expects the transaction to
be slightly accretive to earnings on a non-GAAP adjusted basis
excluding the impact of purchase accounting adjustments on deferred
revenues and non-recurring merger-related costs and dilutive on a
GAAP basis for fiscal year 2008. Blackboard retained Wachovia
Securities as its financial advisor and Dewey & LeBoeuf as its
legal advisor. NTI retained UBS Investment Bank as its financial
advisor and Latham and Watkins LLP as its legal advisor. "NTI is a
fast growing company in a high growth market segment and has been
extremely successful in scaling their business," commented Chasen.
"NTI's 2007 revenue is expected to be approximately $30 million
which would represent an annual growth rate in excess of 50 percent
over the prior year. We believe we can extend NTI's leadership
position and scale the business in the coming years." Preliminary
Fourth Quarter 2007 Update and Guidance Concurrent with its
acquisition announcement of NTI, Blackboard is also providing some
highlights and financial guidance for the fourth quarter ended
December 31, 2007 and initial standalone guidance for 2008.
Highlights from Blackboard's fourth quarter include: --
Blackboard's enterprise licenses (Blackboard Learning System(TM) -
Enterprise, Blackboard Community System(TM), Blackboard Transaction
System(TM), Blackboard Content System(TM), Blackboard Portfolio
System(TM) and Blackboard Outcomes System(TM)), totaled 3,935. --
Blackboard announced a partnership with the Sony Corporation to
support Sony FeliCa contactless technology in the Blackboard
Commerce Suite. The partnership goal is to develop new technology
that improves student service in a cost effective manner. -- During
the fourth quarter of 2007, Blackboard acquired a small technology
company to augment the content management capabilities of the
Blackboard Academic Suite. As the result of this transaction and
other merger-related activity Blackboard incurred $1 million of
non-recurring expense and $300,000 of increased amortization
expense in the fourth quarter. Based on preliminary results,
Blackboard is providing the following updated guidance for the
fourth quarter of 2007: -- Revenue of $62.0 to $63.0 million for
the fourth quarter of 2007; -- Amortization of acquired intangibles
of approximately $5.8 million; -- Net income of $3.4 to $3.9
million, resulting in net income per diluted share of $0.11 to
$0.13, which is based on an estimated 30.4 million diluted shares
and an effective tax rate of 41.5 percent. The company's net income
will include approximately $1.3 million or $0.04 per share of
additional expense in the quarter which is attributable to $1.0
million of non-recurring merger-related expense and $300,000 of
additional amortization expense; -- Non-GAAP adjusted net income,
excluding the amortization of acquired intangibles and the
associated tax impact, of $6.9 to $7.4 million, resulting in
non-GAAP adjusted net income per diluted share of $0.23 to $0.25,
which is based on an estimated 30.4 million diluted shares and an
effective tax rate of 40.5 percent. The company's non-GAAP net
income will include approximately $1.0 million or $0.03 per share
of non-recurring merger-related expense; -- Cash flow from
operations in excess of $25 million. The guidance for the fourth
quarter of 2007 is based on preliminary, unaudited financial
results, and the final results reported by Blackboard for the
period may be materially different. Initial 2008 Blackboard
Standalone Guidance Blackboard management is also providing
preliminary 2008 revenue guidance of approximately $278 to $284
million, exclusive of the acquisition of the NTI Group. The company
will provide additional commentary and information on the NTI
acquisition conference call scheduled for January 14, 2008. NTI
Acquisition Conference Call Information Blackboard will hold an
investor and analyst conference call at 8:00 a.m. ET / 5:00 a.m. PT
on Monday, January 14, 2008. A slide presentation regarding the
proposed acquisition may be accessed at Blackboard's investor
relations Web site at http://investor.blackboard.com/. When:
Monday, January 14, 2008 Time: 8:00 a.m. ET / 5:00 a.m. PT Live
Webcast: http://investor.blackboard.com/ Dial in: (800) 561-2718
Passcode: 10746202 A replay of the call will be available via
telephone from approximately 11:00 a.m. Eastern (8:00 a.m. Pacific)
on February 5, 2008 until 12:00 a.m. Eastern (9:00 p.m. Pacific) on
February 12, 2008. To listen to the replay, participants in the
U.S. and Canada should dial 888-286-8010, and international
participants should dial +1 (617) 801-6888. The conference ID for
the replay is 35946018. About Blackboard Inc. Blackboard is a
leading provider of enterprise software and services to the
education industry. The Company's product line consists of five
software applications bundled in two suites, the Blackboard
Academic Suite(TM) and the Blackboard Commerce Suite(TM).
Blackboard's clients include colleges, universities, schools and
other education providers, as well as textbook publishers and
student-focused merchants that serve education providers and their
students. Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with
offices and staff in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.
About The NTI Group The NTI Group, Inc. (NTI), a Delaware
corporation, is a privately held company that provides
communication systems designed specifically for local, regional,
state, and Federal government entities. The Connect(TM) family of
services enables rapid dissemination of critical information via
voice and text devices using its premier mass notification engine
designed to allow users to quickly and easily record and send
time-sensitive notifications to thousands of people in minutes
using just a telephone. NTI makes and distributes the
Connect-ED(R), Connect-CTY(R), Connect-GOV(R), and Connect- MIL(R)
systems, allowing users to target specific groups and/or geographic
regions within their database(s) and engage recipients in two-way
communication by asking them to respond to questions via their
telephone keypads. Forward Looking Statements Any statements in
this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects
for Blackboard and other statements containing the words
"believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar
expressions, including statements about future financial
performance and the expected benefits of the acquisition and its
impact on Blackboard's financial results in future periods,
constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results
may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking
statements as a result of various important factors, including the
timing and extent of regulatory review, the timing of the closing,
the ability of Blackboard to integrate the business, operations and
personnel of NTI following the acquisition, and the ability of both
companies to retain their existing customers and gain new customers
before and after the closing of the acquisition. Other factors that
could affect the results discussed in our forward-looking
statements include those set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of
our most recent 10-Q filed with the SEC. In addition, the
forward-looking statements included in this press release represent
the Company's views as of January 14, 2008. The Company anticipates
that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's
views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update
these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the
Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These
forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as
representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to
January 14, 2008. Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures This release
includes information about the Company's non-GAAP adjusted net
income and non-GAAP adjusted net income per share, which are
non-GAAP financial measures. Management believes that both
measures, which exclude amortization of acquired intangibles and
the associated tax impact, provide additional useful information to
investors regarding the Company's ongoing financial condition and
results of operations and aspects of current operating performance
that can be effectively managed. Because the Company has
historically reported these non-GAAP results to the investment
community, management also believes the inclusion of these non-GAAP
financial measures provides consistency in its financial reporting
and facilitates investors' understanding of the Company's historic
operating trends by providing an additional basis for comparisons
to prior periods. In addition, the Company's internal reporting,
including information provided to the Company's Audit Committee and
Board of Directors, contains non-GAAP measures. The Company has
also adopted internal compensation metrics that are determined on a
basis that excludes amortization of acquired intangibles and the
associated tax impact. A material limitation associated with the
use of the above non-GAAP financial measures is that they have no
standardized measurement prescribed by GAAP and may not be
comparable with similar non-GAAP financial measures used by other
companies. The Company compensates for these limitations by
providing full disclosure of each non-GAAP financial measure and
reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial
measure which investors can use to appropriately consider each
financial measure determined under GAAP as well as on the adjusted
non-GAAP basis. However, the non-GAAP financial measures should not
be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial
information prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition to the
information contained in this release, investors should also review
information contained in the Company's Form 10-Q dated November 8,
2007, as well as other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission when assessing the Company's financial condition and
results of operations. DATASOURCE: Blackboard Inc. CONTACT:
Corporate, Investor and Financial Media, Michael J. Stanton, Vice
President, Investor Relations of Blackboard Inc., +1-202-463-4860,
ext. 2305, or Education & Trade Media, Amy Storey of
Fleishman-Hillard Inc., +1-202-828-8819, for Blackboard Inc. Web
site: http://www.blackboard.com/
Copyright
Blackboard (MM) (NASDAQ:BBBB)
過去 株価チャート
から 6 2024 まで 7 2024
Blackboard (MM) (NASDAQ:BBBB)
過去 株価チャート
から 7 2023 まで 7 2024