Pearson buys US firm Schoolnet for £230m

PUBLISHING group Pearson is to pay $230 million (£140m) for American digital learning firm Schoolnet, the latest in a string of acquisitions to cement its growing position in education technology.

Schoolnet's data allows teachers to personalise learning and it serves more than five million US students, from nursery through to secondary education in about a third of America's largest cities, Pearson said yesterday.

Dame Marjorie Scardino, chief executive of Pearson, which also owns the Financial Times newspaper, said: "Being able to offer a connective digital spine for learning has been Pearson's goal for years."

The group, which also owns Penguin Books, has splashed out more than $1.4 billion on education companies since selling a majority stake in Interactive Data Corporation for $2bn a year ago.

The company said the acquisition of Schoolnet should be broadly neutral to earnings in 2011, including integration costs, but should boost adjusted earnings per share in 2012.

Schoolnet, based in New York, was founded in 1998 by Jonathan Harber - who will keep his position as chief executive - and Denis Doyle.

Alastair Reid, media analyst at brokerage UBS, said in a note on the deal yesterday: "Pearson should see further benefits as they roll out the technology into their global footprint,"

Shares in the media and publishing major closed up 0.9 per cent or 10p at 1,141p.