E-learning: a consolidation update - Executive Summaries - Brief Article

T+D, April, 2002 by Paul Harris

The e-learning market in 2001 offered little refuge from the recession's dot.com meltdown. A few suppliers acquired technology and rivals to bolster market positions. Others hung on desperately, got hitched to another firm, or failed. The steady flow of venture capital trickled. More than 100 e-suppliers closed their doors, while 26 major acquisitions took place.

Says Eilif Trondsen of SRI Consulting Business Intelligence, "The field is currently so fragmented that the largest company doesn't even have a 5 percent share of the market." He expects continued consolidation and an increase in larger players.

Acquisitions in 2001 demonstrated these noteworthy characteristics:

* Acquirers tended to be e-learning companies rather than companies in allied areas.

* Acquired companies were mainly small stand-alone firms occupying a particular e-learning niche.

* A desire for technology was a major motivator.

For complete text, see page 26. Reprint TD040226

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Consolidation story author Paul Harris, who has a copy of a 1935 Variety front page that reads, "Sticks Nix Hick Pix," says he wishes someone had told him earlier in life to "buy low, sell high."