Cognitive Arts Closes Second Round of Financing for $27.5 Million.Business Editors NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 2000 Company Leverages Success in Corporate Training to Develop Alliances with Leading Global Institutions of Higher Education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. Cognitive Arts, the leading designer and developer of e-learning solutions for the education and corporate training markets, announced today the completion of a $27.5 million round of private equity funding Equity funding An investment consisting of a life insurance policy and a mutual fund. The insurance policy is paid by the collateral value of fund shares, giving the investor the advantages of insurance protection with the growth potential of a mutual fund. . The financing was led by GE Equity, a subsidiary of GE Capital and the private equity arm of GE (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : GE). The financing included a follow-on investment from ING Furman Selz Investments, as well as new investor, Leeds Equity Partners, a leading investor in the education and training industry. Additional partners included Catterton Partners and Regent Capital. The company will use this round of financing to accelerate its entry into online learning in partnership with leading institutions of higher education and to continue to grow its highly successful corporate training business. Elliot R. Royce, senior vice president, of GE Equity and Robert A. Bernstein, partner, of Leeds Equity Partners will join the board of Cognitive Arts. With e-learning expected to comprise an increasing percentage of the $770 billion learning industry, Cognitive Arts plans to capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on` v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>. its highly scalable learning platforms by delivering courseware over the Internet, while continuing to offer a superior learning experience. The company will further distinguish itself from its competitors by developing courses accredited accredited recognition by an appropriate authority that the performance of a particular institution has satisfied a prestated set of criteria. accredited herds cattle herds which have achieved a low level of reactors to, e.g. by leading universities worldwide. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. International Data Corporation, the corporate e-learning market is expected to nearly double in size annually through 2003, reaching approximately $11.4 billion by that time. In addition, IDC estimates the number of distance learners will grow from 980,000 in 1999 to 2.2 million by 2002. "Cognitive Arts has provided innovative e-learning solutions to a number of GE businesses, and we welcome this opportunity to extend the partnership," said Elliot Royce. "Their distinctive approach to learning -- based on Dr. Roger Schank's work -- differentiates them, both as an investment and as an e-learning partner." "Cognitive Arts provides GE best-in-class instructional design Instructional design is the practice of arranging media (communication technology) and content to help learners and teachers transfer knowledge most effectively. The process consists broadly of determining the current state of learner understanding, defining the end goal of capabilities," adds Mike Markovits, manager of The Center for Learning & Organizational Excellence at GE Capital. "Their goal-based scenarios approach for web-based instruction is a superior method for obtaining true knowledge acquisition." In the rapidly evolving industry of e-learning, Cognitive Arts is the leader in creating solutions that improve employee and student performance and the effectiveness and efficiency of education and training. Based on Roger Schank's proven and tested theory of "goal-based learning," Cognitive Arts' courseware is unique in that it is designed from a pedagogical ped·a·gog·ic also ped·a·gog·i·cal adj. 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of pedagogy. 2. Characterized by pedantic formality: a haughty, pedagogic manner. point of view to be delivered online and optimizes the medium to engage the student completely in the learning environment. Cognitive Arts uses its unique approach to serve its customers in the corporate and educational markets, including Northwestern University Northwestern University, mainly at Evanston, Ill.; coeducational; chartered 1851, opened 1855 by Methodists. In 1873 it absorbed Evanston College for Ladies. , First Union Corporation, General Electric, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and , IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , and Deloitte & Touche. "Our goal is to change the very nature of education from a learn-by-telling model to a learn-by-doing model," said Dr. Roger Schank Roger Schank (* 1946) is president and CEO of Socratic Arts, and a leading visionary in artificial intelligence. Career Schank was formerly professor of computer science and psychology at Yale University and director of the Yale Artificial Intelligence Project. , chairman and chief technology officer of Cognitive Arts. "Technology is a wonderful vehicle for allowing students to experience and perform in worlds that would otherwise not be open to them. Leading the development of effective learning simulations for the corporate training industry for more than a decade, Cognitive Arts is now building courses to empower students to gain the relevant knowledge and skills they will need in the real world." According to Brian Friedman Brian Alexa Friedman (also known as "B Free", born May 28, 1977) is a popular American choreographer. Career In 2003 Friedman was nominated for an MTV VMA for Best Choreography for Mýa's "My Love Is Like...Wo" video. , president of ING Furman Selz Investments and a director of Cognitive Arts, ING Furman Selz Investments, part of the global ING Group ING Groep N.V. (NYSE: ING, Euronext: INGA) (known as ING Group) is a financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management services. ING once stood for Internationale Nederlanden Groep. , was one of the first firms to recognize the investment opportunity of the educational market. "We first invested in Cognitive Arts in 1998 after being very impressed with the company's approach to creating unique and effective training solutions for Fortune 500 companies," Friedman added. "Cognitive Arts will continue to set the standard for the most effective learning solutions in the industry." "Leeds' investment in Cognitive Arts is an ideal complement to our growing portfolio of e-learning companies," stated Robert Bernstein, a Principal of Leeds Equity Partners. "We feel strongly that companies offering online learners an engaging and effective experience are well positioned to capitalize on the tremendous growth potential of the emerging e-learning industry. Cognitive Arts, with its proven pedagogy, expertise across a number of industry verticals, and compelling opportunities in the post-secondary market, is just this type of company." About Cognitive Arts Cognitive Arts, formerly Learning Sciences Corporation, is the leading designer and developer of e-learning solutions for the education and corporate markets. Its curricula have been used by thousands of students and employees in settings ranging from Northwestern University to General Electric to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Cognitive Arts' courses leverage the strengths of technology as a unique delivery medium to create superior learning environments utilizing the proven goal-based learning theories of Dr. Roger Schank. With over 150 employees and offices in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden , Cognitive Arts optimizes the medium to engage the student completely in the learning environment - an environment which allows the student to learn by doing, fail safely, and immediately learn through timely coaching and expert stories. About GE Equity GE Equity, a subsidiary of GE Capital, is the private equity arm of GE. GE Equity's other investments in e-learning include DigitalThink, Docent, HealthStream, Imparta, NextEd, PlanetLingo, Pensare, and University Access. GE Capital, with assets of more than US$300 billion, is a global, diversified, financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. company with 28 specialized businesses. A wholly-owned subsidiary of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), GE Capital, based in Stamford, Connecticut Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 119,261, making it the fourth largest city in the state. , provides equipment management, mid-market and specialized financing, specialty insurance, and a variety of consumer services Consumer Services refers to the formulation, deformulation, technical consulting and testing of most consumer products, such as food, herbs, beverages, vitamins, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, hair products, household cleaners, [paints, plastics, metals, waxes, coatings, minerals, , such as car leasing, home mortgages, and credit cards, to businesses and individuals around the world. GE is a diversified manufacturing, technology, and services company with operations worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.gecapital.com. About ING Furman Selz Investments ING Furman Selz Investments is a private equity investment firm affiliated with ING Furman Selz Asset Management LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , which is part of the ING Group, one of the world's largest financial services companies, with extensive international operations Internal Operations (I.O., IO or I/O) is a fictional American Intelligence Agency in Wildstorm comics. It was originally called International Operations. I.O. first appeared in WildC.A.T.S. volume 1 #1 (August, 1992) and was created by Brandon Choi and Jim Lee. in insurance, banking, and investment services. ING Furman Selz Investments makes private equity and equity-related investments in the education, business services, consumer, healthcare, industrial manufacturing, media and communications, and transportation industries. About Leeds Equity Partners Leeds Equity Partners is a New York-based private equity firm whose most recent fund, Leeds Equity Partners III, is the largest private equity fund in the U.S. focused on investments in the for-profit education and training industry. The Fund's advisory board is chaired by former Massachusetts Governor William F. Weld and includes former U.S. Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander Andrew Lamar Alexander (born July 3, 1940) is the senior United States Senator from Tennessee and a member of the Republican Party. He was previously the 45th Governor of Tennessee from 1979 to 1987, U.S. Secretary of Education from 1991 to 1993 under President George H.W. and former White House Chief of Staff Thomas "Mack" McLarty. Leeds' current portfolio companies in the education and training sectors include Edison Schools, the nation's largest for-profit manager of public K-12 schools, Ross University, a leading for-profit provider of graduate education in the fields of medicine and veterinary medicine veterinary medicine, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of animals. An early interest in animal diseases is found in ancient Greek writings on medicine. Veterinary medicine began to achieve the stature of a science with the organization of the first school in the , and University Access, a developer of web-delivered business education courseware. About Catterton Partners Catterton Partners ("Catterton") is a leading private equity firm focused on investments in branded consumer products and services companies. Within this framework, Catterton also invests in and has deep experience in business-to-business companies which support a product or service ultimately targeted towards consumers. Catterton considers on and off-line product and service companies across the entire value chain of manufacturing, distribution, marketing, and retailing. Founded in 1990, Catterton has over $500 million under management and is actively seeking new investment opportunities in its focus areas, including: growth and expansion capital to companies from early through late stages of their development, as well as capital to support acquisitions, management buyouts, restructurings, recapitalizations, and turnarounds. In addition to investment capital, Catterton supports its portfolio companies with strategic and operating expertise, which to date, has resulted in the creation of numerous market leaders. About Regent Capital Regent Capital Partners, L.P. ("Regent") makes equity and mezzanine investments in companies requiring capital to implement growth strategies or to finance management buyouts, acquisitions, or consolidations. Regent targets areas in which the partners have expertise including business-to-business services, media and communications, and consumer-driven businesses. The business in which Regent invests will have demonstrated a demand for their product or service and will offer the opportunity to generate significant returns. The partners of Regent have a strong mix of investment banking, operating, and principal experience that allows them to provide advice and strategy to the management of Regent's portfolio companies. |
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