NIIT acquires e-learning firm

Wednesday, 05 February 2003, 20:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: NIIT Ltd., one of India's leading computer education and software development majors, Tuesday announced the acquisition of an e-learning services provider to boost presence in IT-enabled education business. The company expects to earn 1 billion revenues from the acquisition of the content, technology and brand of e-Gurucool, a key provider of e-learning in the schools segment, said an NIIT press statement issued here. "This move is another step forward in our strategy of expanding operations in the vast domain of IT-assisted education," said Rajendra Pawar, chairman of NIIT Ltd. The acquisition will allow NIIT to introduce "enhanced product range" through its network of education centres while offering online services from its e-learning portal -- www.NetVarsity.com. "NIIT's vast network of centres and pervasive online presence through NetVarsity will be used to offer new educational offerings to newer segment of students," said Pawar. The company said the acquisition would enhance its reach among school students, provide access to over 1,500 hours of digital content and technology, and process capability for content development and services. "NIIT platform will help unleash the full potential of e-Gurucool's strengths and help NIIT leverage customer loyalty among students," said Vivek Agarwal, co-founder of e-Gurucool. NIIT acquired Osprey Systems, Custom Development Business of Click2learn and Data Executive International of the U.S. and AD Solutions of Germany in the last one year to expand its market presence. NIIT manages 2,445 education centres in 31 countries. It also offers computer training to over 750,000 students in 2,000 government schools in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. "We are expanding our horizons by introducing new products and new programmes for existing as well as new segments like these," said P. Rajendran, chief operating officer of NIIT Ltd. "We expect these initiatives to further grow our market share in a consolidating market." NIIT's computer education business touched 816 million in revenues in the quarter ended December 31, 2002, registering a growth of over 10 percent in the same period previous year.
Source: IANS