In Australia, enrolments in Higher Education have seen a 10% surge compared to 2019, driven by a surge in international students. In fact, about one in 40 Aussies is on a student or graduate visa. The demand is set to continue, putting the spotlight on online education marketplaces.
AI-powered SaaS learning platform OpenLearning (ASX: OLL) has acquired three Australian online higher education marketplaces. This strategic move significantly enhances OpenLearning’s capabilities in student acquisition and provides new opportunities for cross-selling opportunities.
The marketplaces – PostGradAustralia.com.au, TheUniGuide.com.au and StudyNewZealand.nz – attract over 800,000 users annually and list over 15,000 courses and degrees from 70 institutions. These have been acquired for an upfront cash payment of $231,472 after adjustments for deferred revenue and prepaid expenses, supplemented by an additional $34,000 contingent upon the successful renewal of a customer contract.
OpenLearning Group CEO & Managing Director Adam Brimo said, “This acquisition marks a pivotal moment in OpenLearning’s journey. Integrating these marketplaces into our portfolio not only broadens our reach but also deepens our impact by providing an enriched platform for education providers to connect with students worldwide.
“We are grateful for the support from the Prosple team throughout this process and look forward to driving the growth and success of these marketplaces.”
OpenLearning offers an AI-powered learning platform that enables education providers to design and deliver short courses, micro-credentials and qualifications. As more students choose to study at unis, online courses are not as big as they were during COVID-19. This is reflected in OpenLearning’s financials for CY23. The Company saw its revenue decline by 27.6% on CY22 to $2.2 million. Its gross sales were down 17.7% to $2.9 million, and it recorded a loss of $4.4 million.
The Group’s Program Delivery division was impacted by lower demand for Australian international education from its partner’s target markets in CY23. In February 2024, OpenLearning and UNSW College mutually agreed to discontinue the transition program online (TPO) due to soft demand for course deliveries.
In the same period, OpenLearning decided to discontinue its Learning Services business and focus on its Platform SaaS offering. Launching the OpenLearning AI Assistant is also expected to reduce demand for these services as it will save education providers significant time developing courses.
OpenLearning reduced its cost base by 30%, growing SaaS revenue by 12.1%, deploying industry-leading Generative AI tools and beginning its expansion to India.
Now, the marketplaces acquired complement OpenLearning’s platform and its existing marketplace by providing an additional channel to promote courses delivered by education providers, enhancing customer value proposition. The acquisition expands OpenLearning’s product mix and facilitates clear cross-selling opportunities, leveraging the new and shared customer base to drive revenue growth. As per OpenLearning, these marketplaces are already profitable and require minimal additional investment for future growth.
The Company and vendor Anabranch Pty Ltd satisfied all the conditions precedent in the business and asset sale agreement except for OpenLearning receiving firm commitments to raise equity of at least $1,000,000, which the Company has decided to waive and use its existing cash on hand.
The Company believes this acquisition will strengthen OpenLearning’s value proposition to education providers and complement the existing platform and marketplace by providing an additional channel to promote courses delivered by education providers. The Company has already received interest from universities and higher education providers to utilise the marketplaces to attract new students and is building a pipeline of potential customers.
Alinda is a Business Reporter for The Sentiment
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1 Comment
Shraddha13
Thank you for sharing! To explore further
Replyhttps://www.360iresearch.com/library/intelligence/virtual-reality-in-elearning