Significantly expands industry-leading online distribution channel in the education market
MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Digital River, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRIV), a leading provider of global e-commerce solutions, announced that it has acquired Journey Education Marketing, Inc., (JourneyEd) a leading reseller of software and hard goods for students, faculty, educational institutions and public school districts in the U.S. K-12 and post-secondary academic markets. Journey Education Marketing owns, markets and operates two of the leading brands in the education market, JourneyEd and Academic Superstore. Digital River acquired JourneyEd through an all cash transaction and expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings in 2011. Other financial terms related to the transaction were not disclosed.
âWe are excited to welcome JourneyEd and their team of education market experts to Digital River,â said Joel Ronning, Digital Riverâs CEO. âBy bringing our industry-leading online distribution channels together under one e-commerce solution, we can create an unmatched opportunity for companies looking for a fast and cost effective way to gain access to new markets and millions of potential customers. The addition of JourneyEdâs academic distribution channels to our established network of retail, affiliate and channel partners will enable us to create natural cross-sell opportunities for our software, consumer electronics and game clients.â
The JourneyEd and Academic Superstore brands manage tens of thousands of academic e-stores that engage in the sale of popular software titles and other education-related goods, such as computer hardware and accessories, books and backpacks. The e-stores feature products from a variety of market leaders, including Adobe, Autodesk, Corel, LeapFrog, Logitech, Microsoft, Parallels, Sony, VMware and Wacom.
A significant share of the education market purchases products through JourneyEd and Academic Superstore and their channel partners, which includes college bookstores and national bookstore chains. The addressable U.S. education market includes more than 75 million students, faculty and staff.
âThis business combination provides both companies added advantages in their respective markets as well as opens new opportunities,â said Michael Fischler, CEO of JourneyEd. âWith Digital Riverâs backing, we plan to capitalize on their digital delivery capabilities and expand the distribution of our education catalog through their online network of channel partners. At the same time, we look forward to offering Digital River clients access to a sought after channel and customer base.â
About Journey Education Marketing, Inc.
Founded in 1990, Journey Education Marketing, Inc. (JourneyEd) based in Dallas, Texas, is the leading multi-channel software marketer to the K-12 and post-secondary academic markets, which include students, faculty, staff, educational institutions and public school districts. Our Academic eStore Network, which includes thousands of online e-stores, offers thousands of market-leading software and technology products, including those published by Microsoft and Adobe.
About Digital River, Inc.
Digital River, Inc., a leading provider of global e-commerce solutions, builds and manages online businesses for software and game publishers, consumer electronics manufacturers, distributors, online retailers and affiliates. Its multi-channel e-commerce solution, which supports both direct and indirect sales, is designed to help companies of all sizes maximize online revenue as well as reduce the costs and risks of running an e-commerce operation. The companyâs comprehensive platform offers site development and hosting, order management, fraud management, export controls, tax management, physical and digital product fulfillment, multi-lingual customer service, advanced reporting and strategic marketing services.
Founded in 1994, Digital River is headquartered in Minneapolis with offices across the U.S., Asia, Europe and South America. For more details about Digital River, visit the corporate website or call +1 952-253-1234, or follow us on Twitter.
