Riverdeep Pays $57.2M for Broderbund

Boosting its educational software offerings, Riverdeep Group will pay Gores Technology Group $57.2 million for its Broderbund subsidiary.

Broderbund’s applications include Print Shop, Print Master, Family Tree Maker, American Greets, 3D Home Architect, Calendar Creator and Cosmopolitan.

They allow users to create, personalize, and share projects such as newsletters, greeting cards, banners, digital photo albums, family tree charts, home designs,
scrapbooks, and multi-media slide shows. The software can be used on PCs, Macintosh and handheld devices. Broderbund is based in Novato, Calif.

“We view these brands as a tremendous fit within both our school and consumer businesses,” said Barry O’Callaghan, Riverdeep’s chairman and CEO. “We are
purchasing a great company and we expect the acquisition to be accretive to earnings and cash-flows.”

Riverdeep, an Irish company with U.S. headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., will finance the purchase with a new $50 million credit line from Foothill Capital Partners
and cash on hand.

Founded in 1995, Riverdeep makes Internet and CD-ROM software for the K-12 market. It also offers an online support tools for teachers and administrators.

Today’s buy is Riverdeep’s second transaction with Los Angeles-based buyout firm Gores Technology Group in the last year. In September, it acquired the education division of The Learning Company from Gores for $40 million in stock
and $20 million in assumed debt.