Learning Pool acquires Remote Learner as part of ambitious US expansion plan

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Libby Cross, Senior Marketing Executive

Learning Pool today announced the acquisition of Remote Learner, the Denver, Colorado based LMS specialist and learning technology company. 

With clients such as recruitment giant Indeed, Royal Caribbean Group and Ultimate Kronos Group, Remote Learner has an impressive track record of delivering persuasive elearning solutions to thousands of clients, representing over a million users, for more than two decades. The company is the fourth to join the Learning Pool Group in as many years and adds significant capacity and capability to the Group’s North American business.  

Speaking about the acquisition, Learning Pool Group CEO Paul McElvaney said,  “We’ve been particularly impressed by the focus on delivering impact to customers that the Remote Learner team prides itself on, which has been especially evident through the COVID pandemic. This acquisition puts the Group in great shape to accelerate our already ambitious customer satisfaction and growth targets in the North American region and takes the global Learning Pool team to more than 260 dedicated and talented people.”

Following the acquisition, Remote Learner’s current President and Chief Innovation Officer, Dr. Page Chen, will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer and join the Learning Pool Group board. “This acquisition represents a great opportunity to honor our commitment to helping our clients grow their impact,” said Dr. Chen. “The team at Learning Pool has made impressive progress over the last twelve months on bringing together LMS, LXP, Analytics, Library and Custom Content solutions into one of the most compelling portfolios in today’s online learning market. We have a long history of using technology to improve lives through learning and look forward to driving even more value for our customers.” 

The learning platform market is rapidly changing as business and educational institutions surge toward online learning solutions in the wake of the global events of 2020. This acquisition supports Remote Learner in both maximizing the opportunity created whilst continuing to provide exceptional service to customers in North America. Dr. Ben Betts, CEO at Learning Pool, commented, “Customers are increasingly asking us for more help, and the breadth of our portfolio offering serves the workplace learning needs of almost every business and organization in the UK and North America. We’re excited about bringing our innovative solutions around automation, analytics and learning in the flow of work to the Remote Learner customer base.”

This latest transaction comes off the back of strong 2020 annual results for Learning Pool Group, in which revenues were up 32% to £18.1m, and follows the Group’s 2019 acquisition of HT2 Labs. 

Learning Pool and Remote Learner look forward to expanding on this exciting announcement and sharing more detail in the new year.

About Learning Pool

Learning Pool has been backed by Carlyle Cardinal Ireland (CCI), an investment fund sponsored by The Carlyle Group and Cardinal Capital Group, since 2016. The Group has subsequently enjoyed triple-digit growth and completed four acquisitions, taking the global workforce from 80 in 2016 to more than 260 today. Learning Pool Group have won more than 40 industry awards in the last twelve months including two Brandon Hall awards, Gold ‘Investors in People’ accreditation and a Gold Stevie Award for Sales and Customer Service. For more information, visit www.learningpool.com.

About Remote Learner

Remote Learner is one of the largest and most respected open-source LMS providers in North America with 35 staff and more than 300 customers. Remote Learner brings together award-winning technical and creative expertise to design, configure, and launch persuasive solutions tailored to the unique needs of its customers.For more information, visit www.remote-learner.com. 

Advisors

Beltrae Partners acted as lead advisor to Learning Pool throughout the transaction.  Legal counsel for Learning Pool was Millar McCall Wylie, with Grant Thornton acting as financial advisor. The deal was supported by Ulster Bank.