|
A
representative for Powell Jobs' organization, the Emerson
Collective, confirmed the investment in Amplify but would not
specify how much of the company Powell Jobs would own or the
amount paid for it.
The company's top management, including its new Chief Executive
Larry Berger, picked up a minority position in the
Brooklyn-based company as part of the deal.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp said Sept. 30 that it had sold
Amplify to a management team backed by a group of private
investors for an undisclosed sum. The identity of the investors
was not revealed at the time.
Murdoch, News Corp's chairman, has been an outspoken critic of
weaknesses at U.S. public schools. News Corp poured hundreds of
millions of dollars building the educational technology unit.
As part of News Corp, Amplify introduced a digital curriculum
program for middle school students in 2014. It also rolled out a
tablet device to school districts, an effort that was later shut
down.
In August, News Corp took a charge of $371 million related to
the business. More than 500 employees lost their jobs after the
sale. Former New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein, who
helped plan the buyout and was the previous CEO, will have a
board seat.
Powell Jobs is the president and founder of the Emerson
Collective, which focuses on making investments in education,
immigration reform and social issues, its website says. She is
also chairwoman of College Track, an educational after-school
program that helps prepare lower income students for college
which she co-founded in 1995. In September, she started a $50
million campaign for innovation in high schools.
She was tied for 23rd on Forbes' list of the richest Americans
with a net worth of $19.1 billion last year.
The Emerson Collective said in a statement that it shares a
belief with Amplify that technology and innovation can transform
classrooms and looks forward to the company growing and
expanding its services.
News Corp purchased Wireless Generation, a New York-based
educational analytics and assessment firm that became the
foundation of the Amplify unit for $390 million in 2010.
(Reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York; editing by Grant
McCool)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
|
