XanEdu and SharedBook, Home to AcademicPub, to Merge

ANN ARBOR, Mich., March 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- XanEdu, Inc.^TM and SharedBook Inc., home to AcademicPub^TM today announced the signing of an agreement to merge the two privately held companies.  The deal, expected to be concluded within the next 30 days, will create the industry's only unified solution that combines best-in-class technology and services across the entire custom course materials delivery spectrum.

XanEdu is the nation's leading full-service provider of custom course materials through campus bookstores, academic programs, and faculty.  Over 1,000 institutions and more than 630,000 students use XanEdu course materials each year.  Professors and college bookstores rely on XanEdu to help them through the challenging process of finding custom content outside of traditional textbooks, clearing copyright permissions, and delivering a dynamic digital experience for students.  Course materials are made available to students in print, and in digital format via the myXanEdu content delivery platform, the most robust and award-winning student experience for interacting with course packs and custom books online and on tablets. 

AcademicPub is the leading provider of self-service technology used by faculty to quickly source, aggregate and order custom course materials online, enabling faculty to build course packs in minutes.  The company has accumulated the largest library of over 12 million copyright-cleared content items, from 265 of the most respected academic publishers of books and journals, from which professors can preview and select.  Professors may also upload their own materials, or search the web to include additional items via the platform.  Within minutes, fully cleared and composed custom course packs are available and ready for students to purchase in either print or digital formats.

Custom books, course packs, and training materials enable educators to select precisely the right articles, textbook chapters, readings and multimedia that will engage their students and support their teachings. Learners, in turn, pay for or receive only what they will use and what will be taught.

"The combined value proposition for customers is immense," said John DeBoer, CEO, XanEdu.  "Separately, we each solve different industry needs.  Together, we become the best end-to-end provider in the market, providing both full-service and do-it-yourself options.  The combination allows us to better serve all of our higher education constituents – institutions, faculty, students, bookstores, publishers – as well as enter new markets."

SharedBook and AcademicPub CEO Caroline Vanderlip adds: "Whether you want to search and build your materials on your own with the most efficient and user-friendly interface, or have a team of experts help you through the process, we will offer the full spectrum of solutions that our joint customers want and need.  It's the answer for educators, corporations, or any business needing to teach or train cohesively with specific articles, book chapters, proprietary content or multimedia."

The merger includes AcademicPub as well as the non-educational operations of SharedBook, such as Blog2Print.  The combined entity is planning to operate under the XanEdu brand with DeBoer remaining CEO, and the employees of both companies reporting to DeBoer.  Vanderlip will become a member of the XanEdu board of directors.

About XanEdu
XanEdu is helping institutions change the course of learning and instruction with innovative solutions for creating, delivering and managing course materials.  XanEdu helps educators, corporations and learners save money, improve efficiency, collaborate, engage more with content and improve learning outcomes.  XanEdu course materials, including course packs, custom books, and lab manuals, are 100 percent copyright compliant and accessible on iPad and Android tablets.  Headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI since 1999, XanEdu is privately held and funded by Plymouth Ventures and Superior Capital Partners, LLC.  More information can be found at www.xanedu.com.

About AcademicPub
AcademicPub, SharedBook Inc.'s technology platform for higher education, assembles, composes, prices and delivers custom textbooks in eBook and/or print format.  AcademicPub allows for immediate creation and inclusion of copyright-cleared content from anywhere, such as web articles, self-generated lectures or from the AcademicPub Content Library.  Digital or print distribution generates a fast and easy way for educators to provide an engaging educational experience, with lower prices and up-to-the-minute materials for students.  More information and free registration for faculty is available at www.academicpub.com.  Headquartered in New York since 2004, SharedBook Inc. is privately held and can be found at www.sharedbook.com.

SOURCE XanEdu, Inc.