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EXHIBIT 1
[PLATO LOGO]
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
John Murray, President & COO
PLATO Learning, Inc.
952.832.1000
PLATO LEARNING ANNOUNCES
ACQUISITION OF CYBERED, INC.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JULY 24, 2000 -- PLATO Learning, Inc. (NASDAQ: TUTR)
announced today the acquisition of CyberEd, Inc., a provider of
multimedia science courseware for high schools, for $4.8 million in
cash. The acquisition enables PLATO to integrate the CyberEd science
courseware with its comprehensive PLATO Learning system and will also
add 44 titles to PLATO's existing individual titles product line.
Commenting on the transaction, John Murray, president and chief
operating officer, stated, "We are delighted to add the CyberEd product
line and distribution system to our organization. The CyberEd product
includes some 44 individual high school and college level titles
covering chemistry and biology - all of which are in the process of
being Internet enabled. Together with the Discovery Channel middle
school science courseware we recently began to distribute, the CyberEd
products will provide our clients with the most comprehensive
multimedia science offering for secondary education. This commitment to
science courseware, on top of our already strong PLATO offering in
Math, Reading and Writing speaks to our commitment to core skills for
secondary education."
Richard Carle, founder and CEO of CyberEd, added, "I have been very
pleased with the progress of CyberEd during the last five years and am
proud of our staff and products, which have been recognized in 1998 and
1999 by the Eddie awards as the best high school science software. I
know that CyberEd can be even more successful as part of a larger
organization and am very pleased to conclude this transaction with
PLATO which is recognized as one of the premier educational software
companies in the world. I am confident that the secondary education
sector will be seeing a lot more of the CyberEd product as a result of
PLATO's large, direct sales force."
CyberEd, Inc., based in Paradise, California is one of the United
States' leading publishers of interactive, multimedia courseware for
high school and college level science. The company's products are used
by thousands of schools, colleges and universities worldwide and are
soon to be available over the Internet. CyberEd sells its products
primarily through its own education
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catalog and has a network of North American and international
resellers. Berkery, Noyes & Co. acted as financial advisor to, and
assisted in the negotiation on behalf of CyberEd.
Berkery, Noyes & Co. specializes in investment banking for the
publishing, media and information industries. Its clients range from
small firms, often seeking a buyer, to most of the major international
information companies, who use the firms expertise in locating,
analyzing and negotiating with acquisition candidates as well as in
managing divestitures. Berkery, Noyes & Co. has offices in New York,
Boston, San Francisco and Frankfurt, Germany.
PLATO Learning is the developer and marketer of computer-based PLATO
products and services. With PLATO revenues of over $44 million, PLATO
Learning, Inc. is a publicly held company traded as TUTR on the
NASDAQ-NMS. Offering more than 2,000 hours and 10,000 learning
objectives of comprehensive academic and applied skills courseware
designed for adolescents and adults, PLATO Learning is marketed to
middle and high schools, colleges, job training programs, correctional
institutions, military education programs, corporations, and consumers.
PLATO Learning is delivered via networks, CD-ROM, the Internet, and
private Intranets; it is available for immediate purchase and
electronic download on the Company's e-commerce site PLATO.COM
An international training and education company, PLATO Learning
headquarters are located at 10801 Nesbitt Avenue South, Bloomington,
Minnesota 55437-3109, (952) 832-1000 or (800) 869-2000. PLATO Learning
has domestic offices located throughout the United States, and
international offices in the United Kingdom, and throughout Canada.
PLATO Learning has international distributors located in Puerto Rico,
Singapore, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. The company's
Web site address on the Internet's World Wide Web is www.plato.com
* * *
This press release contains forward-looking information regarding
future prospects. There can be no assurance that the Company will be
able to achieve any particular result in future periods because of
uncertainties, such as timing of receipt of product orders and delivery
to its customers and other matters relating to revenue recognition
accounting principles.
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(R) PLATO is a registered trademark of The Roach Organization, Inc. and
TRO Learning, Inc. All company names and product names are trademarks
or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
