Kaplan, Inc., the global education services company and largest
subsidiary of Graham Holdings (NYSE:GHC), has agreed to acquire
SmartPros, Ltd. (NASDAQ-CM:SPRO), a leading provider of accredited
professional education and training, primarily in accountancy.
Kaplan will pay approximately $16.9 million in cash or $3.57 per
share.
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View the full release here:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151022005754/en/
SmartPros offers a broad suite of services and content in
accountancy continuing education. These include its well-known
Financial Management Network (FMN), CPA Report (CPAR) and SmartPros
Advantage (SPA) accounting subscription products. Its Financial
Campus product and Banking library delivers continuing education to
the financial services industry. SmartPros also offers accountancy
training to accounting professionals and corporations through its
Loscalzo Associates unit that qualifies practitioners for CPE
credits in accounting, auditing and assurance topics. Its library
of over 2,800 hours of primarily online education programming is
delivered via a modern, proprietary learning management system
(LMS) that enables clients to tailor their training
requirements.
SmartPros recently launched its Audit Management System (AMS),
which delivers a robust regulatory compliance solution for banks,
broker-dealers and insurance companies to carry out branch audits
and systematically help minimize regulatory and compliance
risks.
“SmartPros’ continuing education courses in accountancy for
professionals in the U.S. will provide a domestic complement to our
existing global accountancy training programs,” said Dr. Andrew
Temte, CFA and President of Kaplan Professional Education, who
noted that Kaplan is a recognized leader in accountancy training in
the U.K., Singapore and Hong Kong. “In addition, SmartPros’
continuing education offerings in the financial services field fit
well with Kaplan’s existing Firm Element and Insurance CE products,
which will enable us to deliver enhanced value to current and
future customers.”
“We believe that combining SmartPros with Kaplan will strengthen
our product offerings and allow the combined entity to better meet
the needs of the changing professional development marketplace. We
think this transaction is good for SmartPros’ customers, employees
and shareholders,” said Allen S. Greene, CEO and Chairman of the
Board for SmartPros. “It is a marriage of two well-regarded leaders
in continuing education for accountants and financial service
professionals.”
SmartPros reported $13.5 million in revenue for 2014.
Its existing customer base consists of approximately 3,000
companies, which primarily includes corporate, accounting and
financial services firms. Additionally, SmartPros serves
broker-dealers, securities and banking firms as well as state CPA
societies and other professional groups and associations.
Practitioners can earn professional education credits for CPA,
CMA, CFM, and CIA designations, and continuing legal education
(CLE) credits.
The transaction is expected to close by year-end, subject to
SmartPros’ shareholder approval.
About Kaplan
Kaplan, Inc. serves over 1.2 million students globally each year
through its array of higher education, test preparation,
professional education, English-language training, and university
preparation, and offerings to individuals, institutions, and
businesses. Across its 75-plus year history, first as small
test-prep pioneer and then an early online education leader and now
a global education provider, Kaplan has been recognized for
expanding educational access and using technology and learning
science innovations to continually improve outcomes for its
students and partners. Kaplan has operations in over 30 countries,
employs more than 19,000 full- and part-time professionals, and
maintains relationships and partnerships with more than 1,000
school districts, colleges, and universities, and over 2,600
corporations and businesses.
Kaplan Professional Education helps professionals obtain
in-demand certifications, licensing and designations that enable
them to advance and succeed in their careers. Through live and
online instruction, Kaplan Professional Education
provides test preparation, licensing, continuing education,
and professional development programs to businesses and individuals
in the accounting, insurance, securities, real estate, financial
planning, and information technology, industries.
Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE:GHC) and
its largest division. For more information, please visit
www.kaplan.com.
About SmartPros
Founded in 1981, SmartPros Ltd. is an industry leader in the
field of accredited professional education and corporate training.
Its products and services are primarily focused in the accredited
professional areas of corporate accounting, financial management,
public accounting, governmental and not for-profit accounting,
financial services, banking, engineering, legal, ethics and
compliance, and information technology. SmartPros is a leading
provider of professional education products to Fortune 500
companies, as well as the major firms and associations in each of
its professional markets. SmartPros provides education and content
publishing and development services in a variety of media including
Web, CD-ROM, video and live seminars and events. The company’s
subscription libraries feature hundreds of course titles and 2,800
plus hours of accredited education. SmartPros’ proprietary
Professional Education Center (PEC) Learning Management System
(LMS) offers enterprise distribution and administration of
education content and information. In addition, SmartPros produces
a popular news and information portal for accounting and finance
professionals serving more than one million ads and distributing
more than 200,000 subscriber email newsletters each month.
SmartPros’ network of Web sites averages more than 1 million
monthly visits, serving a user base of more than 1.5 million
profiled members. Visit: www.smartpros.com.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151022005754/en/
KaplanMark Harrad,
212-974-6231mark.harrad@kaplan.comorSmartProsShane Gillispie,
914-829-4974shanegillispie@smartpros.com
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