Blackboard completes merger with Fla. company

Reston-based education technology company Blackboard Inc. and Boca Raton, Florida-based Anthology Inc. higher education software company announced Oct. 25 that they had completed their merger.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Anthology will be the parent company of the combined organization, with the Blackboard name remaining as a brand. Anthology has more than 150 million users across 80 countries. The company will retain the Blackboard office in Reston but be headquartered in Boca Raton.

Anthology Chairman and CEO Jim Milton will lead the combined company.

“The closing of the transaction represents the next chapter for Anthology and Blackboard, as our collective offerings can deliver unmatched personalized experiences and insights across the full learner lifecycle,” Milton said in a statement. “Our combined broad set of capabilities — including teaching and learning, student information systems, enterprise resource planning, community engagement, student success and student engagement — will provide our clients with a full suite of enterprise-level products and services.”

New York-based private equity firm Veritas Capital is the majority owner of the combined entity. New York-based Leeds Equity Partners holds a minority stake in the company, as well as Providence, Rhode Island-based Providence Equity Partners LLC, Blackboard’s previous majority owner.