The proposed sale transaction was initially discussed in the Company's March 14, 2005 press release.
On April 29, 2005, the Company entered into a definitive agreement with CBT Direct, LLC, with respect to the sale of certain assets of its retail IT certification business, SmartCertify, in exchange for the assumption by the buyer of certain liabilities of the business. As previously indicated, the consummation of this transaction will allow us to fully focus our attention and resources on our core enterprise business. Robert W. Baird & Co. acted as financial advisor to the Company in this transaction.
SkillSoft has also entered into a reseller arrangement with CBT Direct, LLC. "We are pleased to have been able to successfully conclude our negotiations and look forward to working with the team at CBT Direct to develop a mutually successful relationship going forward," commented Chuck Moran, President and Chief Executive Officer of SkillSoft.
This transaction will be accounted for in the fiscal 2006 first quarter financial close. Any effect on the 2006 earnings outlook would be announced after completion of this close.
May 19, 2005 -- CBT Direct announced last week that it had completed its purchase of certain assets of SmartCertify Direct, Inc., a subsidiary of SkillSoft Corporation. The proposed sale transaction was initially announced by SkillSoft in a press release on March 14, 2005 and was completed on April 29, 2005.
CBT Direct and SkillSoft have entered into a reseller agreement pursuant to which CBT Direct will offer certain of SkillSoft's computer-based information technology Certification and business skills training courses. CBT Direct anticipates that it will expand its offerings to include certification content to address requirements in other vertical markets.
"We are pleased that the transaction is complete, and look forward to a successful reseller arrangement with SkillSoft," said David Parkinson, chief executive officer of CBT Direct. "We believe that the high quality course content from Skillsoft, combined with our sales and distribution, will create an excellent offering for our customers."
For more information, visit CBT Direct's web site at: http://www.cbtdirect.com/default.asp?article=prnc
About CBT Direct
CBT Direct offers customers a wide library of award-winning, interactive self-study courses designed to meet the training and certification needs of business professionals and those entering specialized fields, including IT, Healthcare, Sales, Management and more. CBT Direct is an authorized reseller of SkillSoft Corporation.
Fore more information visit http://www.cbtdirect.com/default.asp?article=prnc
CBT Direct, LLC is located in Clearwater, Fla. and can be reached at 1-800-653-4933 or 727-724-8994.
I also purchased the $1300 program that came with A+, Network+, Security, etc. I can honestly say, a child could have created a better training course. If I had not picked up an A+ study guide before the test, I would have failed. My wife currently lives in China, and they had even went as far as to promise they could find me a job in China once I completed my classes. If you try to search for jobs on their website, you can only search the US and UK.
Also after purchasing the program and accepting loan, the guy mentions the one "system" requirement he failed to mention when I was buying the program. I needed a 28k or better connection or would most likely be dropped from the online class sessions. I can get a 21k connection at best. This led to me going to my local college and downloading the entire course set. I am terribly dissapointed and wish I would have just bought the 60$ book that was the real reason behind me passing the test. I never bothered making a complaint, or trying to get a refund, I just paid my 1300$ and wished it were going to a better cause. Now that I am unemployed, it would be very useful.