Blackboard Announces Expanded Presence in Brazil and the Middle East

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) today announced new partnerships in the Middle East and Brazil that will help support growing demand for online learning in each region. The partnerships will enable Blackboard to better support the greater use of education technology at schools and universities as well as corporations, government, military and professional organizations.

Blackboard has partnered with BME Holding S.A.L. (BME), a local company with offices in Beirut and Riyadh, to work closely with six partners to support clients throughout the Middle East. In Brazil, Blackboard has partnered with Grupo A, a leading distributor of education publishing content, to expand access to Blackboard solutions.

A growing number of educational institutions in the Middle East and Brazil are already using Blackboard solutions for online learning, mobile learning and Web collaboration. Through Blackboard's expanded local presence in each region, clients will benefit from more fluid relationships with the company around product, service and support.

"These partnerships strengthen our ability to support the wider use of learning technologies in markets where we're seeing greater demand for them," said Michael Chasen, CEO and President of Blackboard. "With these efforts, we can better support the increasing adoption of education technology globally with solutions that support all aspects of the education experience."

In addition to working more closely with clients to support their use of Blackboard solutions, the partnerships will also give the company an opportunity to better understand challenges and opportunities faced by educational institutions in both regions, and to foster closer relationships with leaders in government and business working to support them.

For more information about Blackboard, please visit http://www.blackboard.com/.

About Blackboard Inc.

Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) is a global leader in enterprise technology and innovative solutions that improve the experience of millions of students and learners around the world every day. Blackboard's solutions allow thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate, and government organizations to extend teaching and learning online, facilitate campus commerce and security, and communicate more effectively with their communities. Founded in 1997, Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Blackboard and other statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our Form 10-K filed on February 18, 2011 and Form 10-Q filed on August 4, 2011 with the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of August 15, 2011. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to August 15, 2011.

SOURCE Blackboard Inc.