Boston, MA — July 6, 2000 — FT Knowledge, Pearson plc's business education and management development operation, announced today that it will acquire The Forum Corporation, a leading U.S.-based workplace learning company, for $90 million.

The combined business will create significant opportunities for greatly enhanced services for customers and for revenue growth. In addition, it will have greater geographical reach, more comprehensive products and services, a full range of accreditation services in partnership with a number of business schools and professional bodies, and a leading position in e-Learning.

The new entity will capitalize on growing corporate and individual demand for learning solutions and training programs in executive development, sales, customer service, management, leadership and finance.

Forum is one of the very best training organizations in the world and it is a superb fit with FT Knowledge," said Pippa Wicks, CEO and chairman of FT Knowledge. "This is a great time to be in the corporate training and e-Learning markets and as a result of the acquisition, FT Knowledge will be a leading player. We have the scale, reach, content and technology to create the world's biggest and best corporate training and e-Learning company."

Added John W. Humphrey, CEO and chairman of The Forum Corp.: "FT Knowledge is the perfect partner for Forum. Together we can offer unbeatable learning solutions. Our brands, products and services, together with the technology and content resources of Pearson, will make us a workplace learning powerhouse. We at Forum are absolutely delighted to be working together with FT Knowledge to capture the exciting opportunities of the rapidly developing learning market."

Wicks will be CEO of the combined company. Humphrey will chair Forum and the combined group's International Advisory Board and play a key role in the integration of the two businesses. The acquisition is subject to the approval of Forum shareholders and regulators. This year, the combined business is expected to have annual pro forma sales of more than $110 million.

The merger presents several major benefits. It creates a truly global provider of business education and corporate training through Forum's strong presence in the U.S., FT Knowledge's market leadership in Europe, and both organizations' network of Asian offices. The companies' complementary market focus and FT Knowledge's leading position in the provision of financial training to the investment and banking community generates major opportunities to cross-sell products from a deeper, richer range of content to a much wider client base. Forum's market leadership position in the management of outsourced corporate training will be strengthened by the greater product range, extensive accreditation services and wider geographic coverage that FT Knowledge brings. The new company will be able to accelerate the development of new online products to serve the rapidly growing corporate and distance learning markets. These products will also enrich the professional development channel of Pearson's online education network.

FT Knowledge (FTK) is Pearson plc's business and management education division. FT Knowledge specializes in business, management development and finance programs for individuals and corporations. The company is already working with some of the world's leading academic institutions, such as The Wharton School, Tuck at Dartmouth and the University of Michigan Business School to deliver a range of online executive management courses and web portals. FT Knowledge also works with a number of world-class institutions and professional organizations to develop and deliver a range of qualifications from Diplomas to entire MBAs. FTK provides learning consultancy, custom-designed management development, and design of learning resources and systems to major organizations throughout the world. A number of Academic Institutions use FTK course material as the basis for their own degree programs and other courses. The New York Institute of Finance, part of FTK, provides specialized financial markets training to Wall Street and other financial centers. FTK has 400 employees and operates from 15 offices in 11 countries, to support 25,000 students following programs in more than 140 countries.

The Forum Corporation is a global leader in workplace learning that specializes in helping large, leading companies develop learning strategies, create learning solutions, manage learning organizations and deploy their brand. For three decades, it has helped companies build competitive advantage, create lasting customer loyalty, and improve leadership, management, team-building, sales, sales management and service excellence. It is the largest provider in the U.S. of outsourced training management services. Its new venture, insightforum, is a next generation, web-enabled solution for improved customer relationship management. Forum's customers include 132 members of the Fortune 500. Headquartered in Boston, it reported $74 million in revenues for the fiscal year ending April.

Pearson plc is an international media company with market-leading businesses in education, strategic business information, international television production and consumer publishing. Pearson Education is the world's leading educational and professional publisher.



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