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Canadian firm raises millions for e-learning campaign(Baystreet Tech Insider (Canada) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Canada's D2L Inc. said on Thursday it raised $85 million in venture capital funds, the country's biggest such deal this year, as the fast-growing owner of educational software maker Desire2Learn looks to ramp up its overseas expansion. Already an established player in Internet-based learning in North America, privately held Desire2Learn plans to spur its global expansion efforts with the cash injection, one of the five largest venture capital fund raises in Canada in the last 10 years, according to Thomson Reuters data. The company, whose workforce has grown more than 40% in two years, competes with the likes of Blackboard, which was bought in 2011 for $1.64 billion by a group led by Providence Equity Partners. Desire2Learn, based in the Kitchener-Waterloo corridor, recently opened offices in Brazil, Singapore, Britain and Australia. It says almost 900 software applications from schools, universities and companies are integrated into its Brightspace platform serving 15 million learners. D2L CEO John Baker said the company had no near-term plan to go public as his team, with 800 employees, was focused on global growth and research and development. Baker also said he had no immediate plans to make acquisitions. In March, the company bought the Achievement Standards Network, which Baker said has 400,000 predefined educational standards that can be tied to curriculum. Baker declined to specify a current valuation for D2L, but said after the latest funding round, the venture capital investors will still hold a minority of its equity. © 1998 - 2014 Baystreet.ca Media Corp. All rights reserved. |