because the delivery of rail cars is uneven , skabo participated in other manufacturing , including coachworks for trucks , buses and taxicabs .

the first norwegian-produced trolleybus was delivered from skabo in 1911 .

also technical devises and stalls and in 1926 firewood powered snow melters ; the latter contraption rather unsuccessful .

in 1948 the company was bought by norsk elektrisk & brown boveri ( nebb ) , who sold it to strømmens værksted in 1959 ; moving all activity to strømmen and closing the skøyen plant .

skabo jernbanevognfabrikk

skabo snow - master in filmavisen , documentary , 1945 - 1963 ep . 1962
i ' m just watching a documentary about the automotive history of norway ( i might add it sometime ) - which states that this is the snow - master , made by skabo jernbanevognfabrikk .
skabo jernbanevognfabrikk was a mechanical workshop focusing on design and construction of railcars . it was established by hans skabo in drammen , norway in 1864 ; it became the first rail car factory in the country when it took delivery of the cars for kongsvingerbanen . due to the size of the venture , it moved to tyskerstranden at skøyen in kristiania in 1873 .
skabo jernbanevognfabrikk was a mechanical workshop focusing on design and construction of railcars . it was established by hans skabo in drammen , norway in 1864 ; it became the first rail car factory in the country when it took delivery of the cars for kongsvingerbanen . due to the size of the venture , it moved to tyskerstranden at skøyen in kristiania ( now oslo ) in 1873 .
this is 2nd class four - wheel passenger coach no . b 209 . it was built in 1873 by skabo jernbanevognfabrikk ( skabo railway wagon factory ) of skøyen , near oslo . it has three compartments , with the centre compartment being a saloon , having seats around the sides and a central table . at that time the majority of passengers in norway travelled 3rd class , and 1st class was only provided on international trains to sweden . as a result this carriage provides an example of the best accommodation available at that time on the røros railway . the vehicle is very well built and finished , and closely follows english coach building practice of the time .
please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from wikipedia or other free sources online . ts class 5 was a series of six trams built by skabo jernbanevognfabrikk for trondheim sporvei . four were delivered from december 1937 to february 1938 , while two were delivered in may 1942 . the first four were delivered with four motors , each at 33 k w ( 44 hp ) . the last two were delivered during world war ii with british thomson - houston , each at 31 k w ( 42 hp ) . the two bth - engines underperformed compared to the sister engines , and were the only delivery to the trondheim tramway not from siemens throughout the tramways history . the class 5 was the first bogie cars used by trondheim sporvei . they remained in service until the dalsenget fire on 10 october 1956 , in which five of the trams burnt down . no . 6 survived the fire , and has been preserved at trondheim tramway museum .
from the 1854 establishment of railways in norway to 1909 , no dining service was offered aboard trains ; passengers were allowed to bring food with them . train stations also lacked dining facilities . the first dining service was started by restaurateur carl christiansen . [ 2 ] he established the restaurant at drammen station , and in 1907 was asked by nsb to establish a dining service aboard the express trains on the bergen line , which would open in 1909 . after investigating similar operations in england and germany , he ordered two carriages from skabo jernbanevognfabrikk . [ 3 ] these were to be paid for by the state , but the parliament of norway delayed the grants after a long debate regarding the suitability of restaurant carriages on trains . the plans were opposed by the teetotaler faction of parliament , but there was a majority in favor of dining service . to get the carriages in time , christiansen personally guaranteed the production cost in case a state grant was not allocated . after the parliamentary decision , the cost of the carriages was refunded by nsb . [ 4 ] in 1910 , when president of the united states theodore roosevelt visited oslo to receive the nobel peace prize , several restaurant carriages were ordered solely for the occasion . two years later , restaurant carriages were put in regular service on the østfold line . [ 5 ]
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jupiter holdja ; den of thieves ; suicide mission ; ¡qué gozada de divorcio ! ; dom ; race for glory ; scores to settle ; died wretched ; karishika ; dzidzio contrabass ; keitai kareshi ; operation moscow ; the motel life ; tada - kun wa koi wo shinai ; dr . psycho - die bösen , die bullen , meine frau und ich ; ( more . . . )
translates into english as
railway wagon factory
- the reason for some long norwegian words is simply because they get different meanings if the words are separated . in this case
jern bane vogn fabrikk
would translate into :
iron track wagon factory
. more common examples include :
ananasringer i vann
-
ringed pineapple in water
/
ananas ringer i vann
-
pineapple calls ( on the phone ) in water
ekte håndlagde vafler
-
real handmade waffles
/
ekte hånd lagde vafler
-
a real hand made waffles
.
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race for glory ; scores to settle ; died wretched ; karishika ; dzidzio contrabass ; keitai kareshi ; operation moscow ; the motel life ; tada - kun wa koi wo shinai ; dr . psycho - die bösen , die bullen , meine frau und ich ; bull durham ; operazione kappa : sparate a vista ; berlin falling ; unheimliche geschichten ; maze ; ( more . . . )
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unfortunately the norwegian railway museum has only a small collection of 3ft 6in gauge rolling stock at hamar , however the passenger cars it has are extremely interesting .
in all cases no attempt has been made to restore them to as - new condition , but they appear to have been very well cared for throughout their life , and must have been in very good condition when taken out of service .
this applies especially to the four - wheel passenger car b 209 , which appears to be in original condition as - built condition . it is like a time capsule to the past .
the museum does possess another six 3ft 6in gauge passenger cars , dating from 1893 to 1913 , but these are on the preserved setesdalsban at grovane .
close - up of one of the end compartments of 2nd class coach b 209 . the vehicle is 7 , 850 mm long over couplings , weighs 5 . 2 tonnes , and seats 20 people . only one coach of this type was built , and it was built for the king ' s coronation at nidaros cathedral , trondheim .
view of the central saloon compartment of coach b 209 . the coach has wooden frames . not long after it was built the norwegian railways changed over to using iron frames .
another view of coach b 209 . the coach is fitted with coal briquette heaters . it was taken out of service in 1926 and given to the railway museum .
this is the royal coach used by the king on the røros railway . it was built by jackson & sharp of delaware , usa in 1877 , and was 13 , 190mm long , with a weight of 9 . 8 tonnes .
the other end of the royal coach . this was norway ' s first bogie passenger car , and was delivered just in time for the røros railway opening ceremony . it was taken out of service in 1929 and given to the railway museum .
this is a four - wheel petrol railmotor of cmb type 1 class , no . 2664 . it was built in 1930 , with a buda 100hp motor . only one axle was powered . the length over couplings was 10 , 370mm , and it seated 30 passengers . the total weight was 10 . 4 tonnes . the maximum permitted speed was 55 km / h . nineteen were built between 1927 and 1930 . the last was taken out of service in 1956 when n . 2664 was given to the railway museum .
came from the private sulitjelmabanen ( the sulitjelma railway ) . it was buit by hannoversche maschinebau of germany in 1892 , having their builder ' s number 2411 . it was built to 750mm gauge , and rebuilt to 1067mm gauge in 1918 . loke was taken out of service in 1957 and given to the railway museum in 1962 . due to very low light levels it was difficult to photograph , and to get the best out of the picture i have converted it to black and white .
all photographs copyright frank stamford , 2010 , who may be contacted by email at : frank . stamford @ urltoken
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norsk spisevognselskap a / s , often abbreviated nss or shortened to spisevognselskapet , was a norwegian state enterprise which operated restaurant carriages on norwegian trains and restaurants at railway stations and railway hotels . the company was established in december 1918 , and started a catering service in 1919 . originally owned by the norwegian trunk railway , it was acquired by the state in 1926 . meals served in the restaurant carriages were relatively expensive , although they were available to all passengers . in the 1950s , the company began using serving trolleys on trains .
in january 1975 , nss merged with the convenience - store chain narvesen kioskkompani into a new company called narvesen–spisevognselskapet . this enterprise was partly owned by the norwegian state railways ( nsb ) and fritt ord , before it merged with the reitan group and was delisted from the oslo stock exchange .
in 1916 , the executive board of the state railways wanted to centralise the operation of restaurant carriages and the most important station restaurants in norway under one management . the board stated that they wanted to minimise the conflict of interest between the railway company and the dining - car operator . they also saw centralising operations as a way to allocate a larger share of the revenue to the railway company , and to ensure a high quality of service on new lines . [ 6 ] at that time the sørland line and dovre line were in the planning stages , and the nsb intended to introduce dining services on these when they opened . [ 7 ] oslo east station and its restaurant were operated by the private norwegian trunk railway . in an agreement signed on 18 september 1918 both railway companies agreed that a new restaurant operator would be controlled by the norwegian trunk railway , but this company had to abide by the nsb ' s decision of how many restaurant carriages to operate on any line . [ 8 ]
this model was inspired by sweden , where a separate dining company had been established ; this company paid the railway company part of its revenue and a fixed fee per restaurant carriage . the swedish model involved including the operation of station restaurants at locations where the restaurant carriages would have depots . [ 9 ] on 21 december 1918 , a . s norsk spisevognselskap was established with a share capital of 200 , 000 norwegian krone ( nok ) . it had 20 shares ; 17 were owned by the trunk railway , and one by each of three directors : waldemar stoud platou , gotfred furuholmen and christian emil stoud platou —the former representing the trunk railway and the latter being director - general of the nsb . [ 10 ] in january 1919 , waldemar platou was appointed chair and christiansen managing director . the company took over christiansen ' s four restaurant carriages and the restaurant at oslo ø on 1 april 1919 . [ 11 ]
on 2 february 1926 , parliament voted to nationalise the trunk railway . during the debate , the organisation of spisevognselskapet was criticised ; with the nationalisation , the state became the sole owner of spisevognselskapet . on 31 march 1927 , the ministry of labour recommended that the company remain a state - owned limited company ; the minority in parliament wanted a state enterprise . [ 12 ] during the 1930s , sigurd astrup was managing director of norsk spisevognselskap . [ 13 ] in 1948 , erling mossige was appointed managing director of the company . he was succeeded by knut tvedt in 1960 . [ 14 ] the company had 75 employees in 1919 , and 591 in 1949 . [ 1 ]
the restaurant carriages of the nss were open to everyone , but dining was so expensive that only passengers travelling in first class used the service . usually , three or four dishes were offered in the restaurant carriages . a four - course dinner cost five norwegian kroner in the 1920s , which was expensive at the time . [ 15 ] warm dishes , such as soups and sauces , were usually prepared at a small stove in the restaurant carriage ' s kitchen . on busy days , prepared steaks were delivered from rail depots . the kitchens were staffed by two maids and one attendant . blocks of ice were often used instead of refrigerators . [ 15 ]
with the opening of the dovre line , spisevognselskapet established dining - car service on 25 june 1921 . [ 16 ] in 1921 a train ride from kristiania to trondheim lasted approximately 15 hours , and the average waiting time at each station was between 10 and 15 minutes . [ 15 ] on 1 july 1925 dining service was introduced on the valdres line , from 1 july 1926 on the brevik line , from may 1934 on the nordland line and from 15 may 1936 on the røros line . in 1948 210 , 000 meals were served on board , in addition to sandwiches and drinks . the company also offered a light breakfast on night trains on the kongsvinger , østfold and dovre lines . [ 16 ] during the second world war , dining - car service was discontinued .
after the war trains faced competition from aviation and automobiles , and serving trolleys were installed on norwegian trains . [ 15 ] in 1965 cart service on trains was centralised and standardised ; food service was faster , and prices were lowered . during the 1970s cafeteria cars were used , where passengers could serve themselves . [ 15 ]
nss derived most of its revenue from the operation of restaurants at railway stations ; in 1939 , this amounted to 80 % . [ 17 ] initially , the company operated the restaurant at oslo ø ; from 1921 , it also took over operation of the restaurants at oslo west station , hamar , koppang , opdal and elverum . the following year , four more restaurants were added : støren , myrdal , dokka and hell . nss also established its first kiosk , at bergen station . [ 18 ] in 1923 , the company was allowed to take over all restaurants in the railway districts of oslo and hamar ; by 1925 , it had taken over operation of the restaurants at lillehammer , hønefoss , jessheim , kornsjø , halden , ski , eidsvoll , otta , dombås , åndalsnes , kongsvinger , trondheim , rena , roa , ringebu , bjorli and finse . [ 19 ]
after this nss decided not to obtain many additional restaurants , as it did not see value in such a strategy . [ 20 ] from 1930 through 1934 the company took over restaurants at ål , jaren , lillestrøm and tønsberg , along with dining service on the steamship skibladner , which ran on mjøsa . [ 19 ] during the first half of the 1940s it again acquired new restaurants , including the one at kristiansand station . [ 20 ] in 1940 and 1941 the company made a solid profit , but lack of food from 1942 onwards transformed the profit to a loss . [ 21 ] during the late 1940s nss also took over the restaurants at drammen and sarpsborg , as well as the one at oslo airport , fornebu . [ 22 ]
in 1919 the norwegian trunk railway operated one hotel , which was built as part of eidsvoll station . operation of the 20 - room hotel was taken over by spisevognselskapet on 14 october 1924 . [ 23 ] nsb was at the time building the dovre line between oslo and trondheim , and was considering establishing hotels where the line passed through dovrefjell . both hjerkinn and fokkstua were considered , but these areas were served by other operators . [ 24 ] instead , spisevognselskapet established the oppdal tourist hotel adjacent to oppdal station and it opened on 28 june 1924 . [ 23 ] [ 25 ] the 60 - bed hotel had a floor area of 605 square metres ( 6 , 510 sq ft ) [ 26 ] and was marketed as a tourist destination , with bobsleigh and curling during the winter and tennis and croquet in summer . [ 27 ] the hotel was closed for part of 1929 , because the municipality would not allow it to serve alcoholic beverages . [ 28 ]
in oslo , the company had its offices and workings spread around town . the main depot was at the east station ; the head office was at fred . olsens gate 21 from 1919 to 1921 , at kongens gate 29 until 1932 , and at tollbodgaten 24 until 1938 . management wanted to centralise both a new depot and administrative offices at a single location close to the railway station , preferably co - located with a hotel . in 1936 work began on a hotel at jernbanetorget , but the project was cancelled . [ 29 ] the proposed hotel would have had 100 rooms across the street from oslo ø . however , the plans were blocked by parliament ( which was opposed to the state railway operating hotels ) . [ 30 ] instead , the administration moved into nylandsveien 10 , [ 29 ] in a new building built on a lot owned by nsb . [ 30 ]
in bergen the company established hotel terminus bergen along with other investors , but the hotel failed to make money . [ 31 ] in the late 1940s the company bought grand hotell bellevue in ålesund , and later operated saltfjellet tourist hotel for a short period . [ 32 ] in 1952 , oslo municipality ' s viking hotel was completed , and spisevognselskapet was selected as the operator . [ 33 ] it remained the hotel ' s operator until 1976 when the government sold it to eiendomsinvest , which outbid spisevognselskapet by several million krone . [ 34 ]
narvesen had an exclusive agreement with nsb to operate newsagent ' s shops at all railway stations , except in stations with restaurants , which were operated by spisevognselskapet . narvesen had a near - monopoly on newsagents in norway , and rented facilities in many public places . the owners of narvesen intended to create a foundation to obtain the company ; when plans for this started in 1972 , they had difficulties finding a way to transfer shares to the foundation without having to pay tax on the transaction . however , the tax laws permitted a tax - free transaction if it was part of a restructuring . [ 35 ] a merger with spisevognselskapet would be considered a restructuring , and in 1974 fritt ord was established to take over narvesen ' s owners ' share of the company . the agreement between narvesen and nsb was made in july 1974 ; in december it was passed by parliament , although the conservative party and progress party voted against the merger . a . s narvesen–spisevognselskapet was established on 1 january 1975 . fritt ord owned 50 % of the new company and nsb 41 % . it assumed the narvesen name in 1979 . [ 36 ]
by the late 1980s , the company had sold all its hotel operations . [ 32 ] the merged company retained the obligation to operate dining services on the trains , which throughout the 1980s necessitated considerable subsidies from nsb . in 1988 , nsb decided to organize the operation of the dining services through tendered contracts ; the first contract ( from 1990 through 1995 ) was won by togservice , a narvesen subsidiary . [ 37 ] the owners had an agreement that neither could sell without the approval of the other . in 1995 nsb sold its shares with fritt ord ' s approval , and the company was listed on the oslo stock exchange . [ 38 ]
in 1999 , fritt ord reduced its stock share in narvesen from 51 % to 34 % . in the fall of 2000 , fritt ord accepted a proposal to merge narvesen with the reitan group . the merged company was named reitannarvesen ; fritt ord held 16 . 2 % of its shares . [ 39 ] in november 2001 fritt ord sold its shares of reitannarvesen , [ 40 ] which was renamed reitan handel [ 41 ] and delisted from the oslo stock exchange . [ 42 ]
fritt ord ( 1997 ) . institusjonen fritt ord ( in norwegian ) . oslo . oclc 52544757 .
høgslund , o . ( 1937 ) . dovrebanen og trøndelag . volume 7 of norsk reisebok ( in norwegian ) ( 5th ed . ) . norwegian state railways . oclc 258361682 .
just , carl ( 1949 ) . a / s norsk spisevognselskap 1919–1949 ( in norwegian ) . oslo : norsk spisevognselskap . oclc 40310643 .
ottersland , per kristian ( 2011 ) .
uten mat og drikke . . .
. arkivmagasinet ( in norwegian ) . national archival services of norway . 11 ( 1 ) : 24–27 . issn 0801 - 5449 .
skedsmo , finn ( 1993 ) . narvesen : vindu mot verden i 100 år ( in norwegian ) . bergen : narvesen . isbn 82 - 7326 - 023 - 2 .
thon , sverre ( 1993 ) . vertskap i norge ( in norwegian ) . oslo : norsk hotell - og restaurantforbund . isbn 82 - 992126 - 2 - 6 .
( in norwegian ) ( 1st ed . ) . oslo : yrkesforlaget . p . 42
hotellbygd i særklasse
. adresseavisen ( in norwegian ) . 8 august 2009 . p . 15 .
oppdal har urealiserte hotellplaner nok til en egen hotellkjede
. adresseavisen ( in norwegian ) . 4 may 2006 . p . 17 .
reitan narvesen bytter navn
( in norwegian ) . norwegian news agency . 18 february 2002 .
reitan overtar narvesen fra fritt ord
( in norwegian ) . norwegian news agency . 15 november 2001 .
reitan tar hele kaka
( in norwegian ) . norwegian news agency . 11 january 2002 .
samvirkelaget inn i viking ?
. verdens gang ( in norwegian ) . 11 september 1976 . p . 16 .
slik kom oppdal på skinner
. adresseavisen ( in norwegian ) . 19 march 2008 . p . 28 .
spisevognselskapet fikk viking hotell
. verdens gang ( in norwegian ) . 2 august 1951 . p . 8 .
( in norwegian ) ( 11th ed . ) . oslo : aschehoug . pp . 393–94 .
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companies established in 1864 - lyon & healy , heineken international , royal bank of canada , e . c . stearns & company , hunslet engine company ( paperback )
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the learning company ( tlc , known briefly as mattel interactive ) is an american educational software company , currently owned by houghton mifflin harcourt .

it produced a grade-based system of learning software and tools to improve productivity .

products for preschoolers through second graders include reader rabbit , and software for more advanced students include the cluefinders .

the company is also known for publishing licensed educational titles featuring characters such as arthur , scooby-doo , zoboomafoo , and caillou .

the learning company

the learning company | vetusware . com - the biggest free abandonware collection in the universe
note : when the learning company purchased brøderbund software , they gained the rights to the carmen sandiego series . only the carmen sandiego games created by the learning company are included here . note that some original brøderbund games are now sold under the learning company name .
agreed to acquire the learning company in a stock - for - stock merger valuing the company at approximately $ 4 . 2 billion . in 1999 , the company name was changed to
you can run your business as a private limited company . this means the company :
join the leaders , thinkers and doers in education . sign up to the big learning company newsletter .
in the fall of 1998 , mattel agreed to acquire the learning company in a stock - for - stock merger valuing the company at approximately $ 4 . 2 billion .
the learning company is a collaboration between the alamo colleges district , and local business leaders to train the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators .
kaplan blog | kaplan early learning company | kaplan early learning co . offers innovative products , cutting - edge curricula / assessments , resources and information for educators , caregivers and parents .
shareholders sued mattel over the learning company deal , naming o ' leary and perik , along with other members of the toy company ' s management , as defendants . in the complaint , the shareholders alleged that under o ' leary and perik the learning company used
accounting manipulations
to gain market share and drive up the company ' s stock price . according to the suit , a sales manager at the learning company at the time of the mattel merger told employees that he
suspected the ' learning company is broke ' and is ' cooking the books . '
mattel paid shareholders $ 122 million to settle the suit . o ' leary and perik settled as well . o ' leary did not return multiple calls for comment . in the past , o ' leary has blamed the problems at the learning company on the technology meltdown and a culture clash between the management of his company and mattel .
the learning company is the current owner of the main carmen sandiego franchise as it purchased the orginal brøderbund software company in 1998 and thus acquired all of the previous titles before then . the learning company has only added two orginal games to the series with carmen sandiego ' s thinkquick challenge and where in the world is carmen sandiego : treasures of knowledge ' ' .
in prosperous times , broderbund did the acquiring . it bought pc globe , an electronic atlas publisher , in 1992 . it even put in a bid to acquire the learning company in 1995 , but the deal fell apart when a company called softkey international outbid it . after the acquisition was completed , softkey changed its name to the learning company .
this is the installation process of the learning company edition of logical journey of the zoombinis . the updated version of the game was published under the name zoombinis : logical journey .
continuity : both series have this with other learning company series . at least one early reader rabbit game featured the characters climbing treasure mountain .
mattel ' s acquisition of the learning company has been referred to as
one of the worst acquisitions of all time
by several prominent business journals .
the north west’s “go - to” provider for apprenticeships , training & learning at work .
home of america ' s premier e - learning services provider , the distance learning company makes e - learning easy and affordable to organizations of almost any size , from dozens of people to thousands . effectively delivering e - learning is much more involved than just offering content over the internet , and every organization faces unique challenges . by working collaboratively with clients , dlc crafts solutions that precisely meet both schedule and budget . the results are effective and convenient e - learning experiences .
broderbund software ( brod ) , the publisher of games like myst and riven , will be acquired by the learning company for us $ 420 million in stock .
the $ 3 . 6 billion acquisition of the learning company , an educational software firm , by mattel took its place yesterday as one of the worst takeovers in recent history when the toymaker sold on the company for less than one - tenth of the purchase price .
the learning company , based in cambridge , massachusetts , expects the broderbund merger to close by the end of september and to increase fiscal 1999 earnings by 10 cents per share .
1980 ( as the learning co . ) palo alto , california , u . s .
this game teaches multiple subjects for kids ages 9–12 . it was also the first title in the carmen sandiego series to be released by the learning company . the game features chase devineaux .
bill dinsmore , the learning company ' s president and chief executive , said in a telephone interview that softkey ' s offer represented a 73 percent premium over what the company ' s shares had traded for before the broderbund deal was announced in the summer .
softkey agreed to pay $ 67 . 50 a share , up from $ 65 , or $ 558 million , in cash for 8 . 28 million shares of the learning company ' s outstanding common stock , and is to exchange softkey shares worth about $ 48 million for unvested learning company employee stock options .
five weeks after initiating a hostile bid , softkey international inc . said today that it had reached an agreement to acquire the learning company for a combination of cash and stock valued at about $ 606 million . learning company said it had terminated its previous merger agreement with broderbund software inc . , its preferred suitor .
in the fall of 1998 , mattel agreed to acquire the learning company in a stock - for - stock merger valuing the company at approximately $ 4 . 2 billion . in 1999 , the company name was changed to mattel interactive , which published not only educational games , but licensed titles from brands like barbie . [ 2 ]
the learning company , based in fremont , calif . , had previously rejected the softkey offer and agreed to merge with broderbund software inc . of novato , calif . , in a stock swap worth more than $ 530 million . learning company officials said today that they were reviewing the new offer and could not comment . broderbund officials said they would not revise their offer , which was sweetened last month . they said that they still expected to prevail when learning company shareholders vote next monday .
over 30 million people are already learning a language on memrise . join them now !
mattel shares rose 43 . 75 cents , to $ 10 . 9375 , on the new york stock exchange . the wall street journal reported yesterday that the learning company had been put on the block .
the learning company , which specializes in educational software such as reader rabbit , will issue 0 . 80 shares of its common shares for each share of broderbund common stock . based on friday ' s closing stock price , the learning company would be paying $ 20 a share , a 21 percent premium over broderbund ' s friday closing price .
learning co . to be bought by softkey for $ 606 million : computers : friendly suitor broderbund is outbid . deal would make softkey largest educational software company .
the learning company that mattel bought was actually a collection of once - leading producers of software for children amassed in an acquisition spree by kevin o ' leary and michael perik , founders of a canadian software company called softkey international inc . softkey , previously known primarily for publishing a cd - rom version of the sports illustrated swimsuit calendar , acquired the original learning company in a hostile takeover in 1995 , and adopted its name .
it ' s not the first bit of unpleasantness for o ' leary . for most of the 1990s , he was the president of educational - software company softkey , which he co - founded with fellow canadian entrepreneur michael perik . o ' leary and perik sold the firm , which they renamed the learning company , to mattel in 1999 for $ 3 . 6 billion . but almost immediately the deal turned sour . the learning company lost $ 200 million in the second half of 1999 alone . o ' leary and perik , who joined mattel after the merger , left the toy company six months later in a management shake - up . in 2001 , mattel disposed of the learning company by giving away most of the division to a private - equity firm for free .
mattel ' s acquisition of the learning company has been referred to as
one of the worst acquisitions of all time
by several prominent business journals . [ 3 ] [ 4 ]
mattel sold the learning company in 2000 at a loss to gores technology group . the total financial losses to mattel have been estimated to be as high as $ 3 . 6 billion .
no , the alamo colleges does not own any part of your idea and company .
the rsc is a registered charity ( no . 212481 ) © 2018 royal shakespeare company
the dayton company establishes the practice of giving 5 percent of pretax profits back to the community . in doing so , it becomes the second american company to establish a preset amount of annual giving .
it was the third acquisition for the learning company in the past four months . earlier this month , the firm bought pf magic , the maker of the
virtual pet
software . in march , it acquired education software maker mindscape .
learning co . to be bought by softkey for $ 606 million : computers : friendly suitor broderbund is outbid . deal would make softkey largest educational software company . - latimes
mattel acquisition and rapid devaluation [ edit ] in the fall of 1998 , mattel agreed to acquire the learning company in a stock - for - stock merger valuing the company at approximately $ 4 . 2 billion . in 1999 , the company name was changed to mattel interactive , which published not only educational games , but licensed titles from brands like barbie . [ 2 ] mattel sold the learning company in 2000 at a loss to gores technology group . the total financial losses to mattel have been estimated to be as high as $ 3 . 6 billion . [ 3 ] mattel ' s acquisition of the learning company has been referred to as
one of the worst acquisitions of all time
by several prominent business journals . [ 3 ] [ 4 ]
the whole point of learning a language is to speak with people . babbel gets you there .
the distance learning company hosts and delivers educational and training content to e - learners around the world . we use our proprietary online technology platform and software to simplify the creation , delivery and tracking of effective e - learning experiences and solutions that provide low - cost alternatives to traditional educational and training experiences .
three traits of the founder ' s mentality that can determine how a company will age .
although it is paying a premium for learning co . - - the purchase price is 63 times the company ' s profits for its most recent fiscal year - - softkey believes it can make the investment pay off quickly by slashing prices and expanding the market for learning co . products such as its reader rabbit series .
mattel sold the learning company in 2000 at a loss to gores technology group . the total financial losses to mattel have been estimated to be as high as $ 3 . 6 billion . [ 3 ]
softkey executives have said they will increase the learning company ' s business by carving multiple titles at lower prices out of its existing line .
the learning company has missed a massive opportunity by not making its software affordable ,
kevin o ' leary , softkey ' s president , said in a statement .
softkey will not make the same mistake . we will dramatically expand the educational software market .
from wikipedia : operation neptune is an educational computer game produced in 1991 by the learning company . the goal of the game is to guide a small submarine through a variety of undersea caverns , collecting pieces of a ruined space capsule . like other games by the learning company , operation neptune is educational and was intended for players age nine to fourteen . it was released as part of the super solvers series for a time .
writedowns of the book value of learning company will result in an after - tax loss of $ 430m . learning company lost nearly $ 300m last year and is currently losing $ 1m a day . analysts said that the price achieved in its re - sale means the may 1999 acquisition was even more disastrous than quaker oats ' $ 1 . 7 billion purchase of snapple , the soft drinks group , in 1994 .
even assuming softkey wins learning company , some analysts question how it will make a return on the investment . softkey plans to spend about $ 1 billion to buy m . e . c . c . and the learning company , which is more than twice the total revenue of the entire educational software industry , said leonard brecken , an analyst with oppenheimer & company . to recover that investment from earnings assumes a growth rate for the industry and market share gains for softkey that are not realistic , he said .
learning a language can be intimidating , but babbel has made it so easy for me .
a series of educational computer games released by the learning company in the late 80 ' s and throughout the 90 ' s . the first and most popular game in this franchise was ,
midnight rescue !
released in 1989 .
but dan lavin , an analyst with dataquest , said softkey really needed the learning company to compete with the makers of premium - priced programs that have cut prices , as the market for its lower - priced programs declines .
goodstart was founded on a vision of giving children the best possible start in life through access to quality early learning .
micro - battles can help a company transform its behavior and become a scale insurgent .
the software sold in retail chains and in direct mail channels across europe , and in the oem channels as well as creating one of the first online imaging models in the market . in 1996 , softkey changed its name to
the learning company
.
wild kratts® © 2015 kratt brothers company ltd . / 9 story media group inc . wild kratts® and creature power® and associated characters , trademarks , and design elements are owned by kratt brothers company ltd . licensed by kratt brothers company ltd . all rights reserved .
in 2014 , houghton mifflin harcourt acquired the learning company brand and ip . they released several book sets under the brand umbrella , including oregon trail adventures , the little box of love , and the little box of laughs . [ 5 ] the company is currently offering the super solvers , mindpower , and starflyers brands as licensing opportunities on its website . [ 6 ]
nervous investors have sold softkey shares as the company embarked on an aggressive acquisition binge , including the $ 370 million friendly offer for the minnesota educational computing corporation , or m . e . c . c . , also on oct . 30 , and last week ' s agreement to acquire compton ' s new media inc . from the tribune company for $ 106 . 5 million . the tribune company also agreed to invest $ 150 million in softkey , which is based in cambridge , mass . , if learning company was acquired .
young pioneers and nostalgic adults can still enjoy learning geography and history with the new the oregon trail card game , apps , and more .
mattel sold the learning company as well as mattel interactive in 2000 at a loss to gores technology group . the total financial losses to mattel have been estimated to be as high as $ 3 . 6 billion . [ 3 ]
mattel inc . said yesterday that it would seek a buyer for the learning company , its educational software unit , which is expected to fetch only a fraction of the $ 3 . 6 billion mattel paid for it in may .
this continuous adaptation requires an ability to learn deeply . learning is not optional ; it is the lifeblood of complex systems , including modern companies . and yet , we often default to the comfortable but shallow learning that is undermined by blame and biases .
broderbund , which upped its initial offer once , said it would not make a new offer for learning co .
softkey’s most prominent takeover was of san francisco - based the learning company ( tlc ) . prior to the sale , tlc hired the center for financial research and analysis ( cfra ) , a forensic accounting firm , to examine its suitor’s financials .
founded in 1980 , the learning company was one of the first personal computer software companies of any kind , and among the early providers of educational programs for the apple ii , then a leading machine . with its mainstay title , reader rabbit , it created a lasting franchise that was unusual in crossing over from home use to in - school , curriculum - based learning .
following the death of his father , george n . dayton , donald c . dayton , grandson of the company founder , becomes president of the dayton company , thus ushering in a new generation of leadership . eventually , all of the founder ' s grandsons—wallace , george ii , kenneth , donald , bruce and douglas—take leadership positions within the company .
but softkey president kevin o ' leary said learning co . will be treated differently from many of the companies it purchased previously .
no main stream media has ever reported that romney , bain cap . , and associated parties are the ones who owned learning .
it ' s the job of the board of directors to do what ' s in the best interests of the shareholders ,
learning co . chief executive william dinsmore said .
it became clear that softkey had the superior offer .
indeed , for learning co . shareholders the deal is a big win : as recently as the end of last year , the company ' s stock was trading at $ 24 . 50 .
our associate schools programme builds on the success of the learning and performance network ( lpn ) which celebrated its ten year anniversary in july 2016 .
broderbund shares jumped $ 2 . 25 , or 13 percent , to close at $ 18 . 75 on nasdaq . learning company ( tlc ) fell 11 cents to $ 24 . 89 on the new york stock exchange .
dpr celebrates 25 years of building great things ! the company also surpasses $ 3 billion in revenue for the first time .
after a decade of rapid growth , dayton dry goods company is renamed the dayton company to better reflect its wide assortment of goods and services . it becomes commonly known as dayton ' s department store .
we have believed that the learning co . has marketing and brand - management that is superior to softkey ' s . we want to bring that to our company . that ' s what ' s different this time around .
on the path of learning , there are challenges and triumphs . each is a moment to learn , grow , and reach higher .
micro - battles can provide quick wins on difficult strategic challenges while starting to transform the company’s broader operating model .
mattel said that it had retained credit suisse first boston to sell learning company . control of any mattel brands will not be part of any deal , it added . the software business will be treated as a discontinued operation in mattel ' s financial statements effective march 31 , which means that its losses will not affect the company ' s bottom line .
following george d . dayton ' s death , son george n . dayton is named president of the dayton company .
to paraphrase david kirkpatrick’s insight on a world being consumed by software , regardless of industry your company is now a learning company , and pretending that it’s not spells serious peril . given this , we cannot continue to construct comfortable stories—essentially fairy tales , complete with villains we blame and punish , and simple conclusions we quickly jump to—because these simplistic stories short circuit our ability to learn . instead , we can choose to build richer , more realistic narratives for the sake of learning .
the learning company was founded in 1980 by ann mccormick , leslie grimm , teri perl , and warren robinett , a former atari employee who had programmed the popular game adventure . they saw the apple ii as an opportunity to teach young children concepts of math , reading , science , problem - solving , and thinking skills . part of the original funding for the company came from a national science foundation grant .
leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves . they are curious about new possibilities and act to explore them .
a learning adventure that fits in your pocket and translates to useful , real - life language skills . your superpowers , unlocked .
spent a fantastic day with big learning company at tramshed tech . very impressed with the quality of work for both pupils and teachers . organisation of the day ensured everyone went home excited and motivated for the challenges set and the learning experiences ahead of us . louise & lisa are professional , enthusiastic and friendly ; they listen and offer advice with an insight into education . looking forward to long relationship , encouraging young stem investigators together .
three qualities can help any company restart its growth engine by removing gunk and complexity that has built up over the years .
have a formed company we’ll help you overcome any obstacle as you look to grow and scale your business .
zoombini island odyssey is one more great program by the learning company . it continues the story of the zoombinis that my whole family enjoys . from the 4 year old to grandma , we all have fun with the logic puzzles and laugh at the wonderful graphics of this program . it is great for developing logical thinking in young children .
the game takes place in a magical realm called treasure mountain . as the game opens , the master of mischief , a common antagonist of the learning company ' s super solvers series and treasure series , steals the kingdom ' s crown and hides all of the castle ' s treasures . the player takes on the roll of the super seeker , whose job is to find the treasures and remove the master of mischief from the throne .
continual learning is crucial for success . we are passionate about providing our clients with the essential skills for maximum performance , flourishing in life and work .
learning ' s revenue growth had already slowed before mattel closed its acquisition . and in august , mr . perik and mr . o ' leary sold a majority of their mattel stock for $ 5 . 9 million each . they left the company in november , after learning reported a third - quarter loss of $ 100 million ; they each received $ 5 . 2 million in severance pay .
welcome to the learning company . one of my secondary school teachers had a motto , “if you don’t aim for gold , you won’t even achieve bronze” . if you are aiming for gold , you have come to the right place . we look forward to partnering with you .
the dayton company becomes a founding member of the retail research association , a cooperative of leading retailers . in 1918 , the association expands and is renamed the associated merchandising corporation .
to set up a private limited company you need to register with companies house . this is known as ‘incorporation’ .
the core of the program is a 6 week training boot camp that trains multidisciplinary startup teams to take ideas and develop them into business models . each startup team consists of multiple students with one faculty member . startup teams are then put through a series of training modules including ideation , business model canvas , and human centered design . teams will have a professor / coach from the innovation department helping them as well as mentor from the learning company board . upon completion of the program , teams will then be able to pitch their work to the learning company board for suggestions as well as access to funding .
or , other tidbits like sankaty is solely owned by mitt , in bermuda ( where billions are buried ) . or - like the
worst corporate merger of all times
where mattel investors lost billions , in 1999 , as soon as mattel merged with ' the learning company ' .
like new maths learning game . my kids loved it and both went to university for science subjects . really good educational maths learning game . ran on win 95 so run in compatability mode on your later / latest computers . hoping this helps your kids / grandkids . thanks for looking
the team led the sale of software in well - known retail chains such as best buy , office depot , staples and wal - mart , in direct mail channels across europe , and in the oem channels as well as creating one of the first online imaging models in the market . in 1996 , softkey changed its name to
the learning company
.
the price proved too high for broderbund , but the company is looking at other possible acquisitions , a spokesman , eric winkler , said .
we looked at the total market , and the stakes for this one company , and decided it was beyond the risk we wanted to accrue for our shareholders ,
he said .
george d . dayton , a banker and real estate investor , becomes a partner in goodfellow ' s dry goods company , the fourth largest department store in minneapolis , minn . the following year , desiring greater involvement , dayton takes sole ownership of the store and becomes the first president of the newly named dayton dry goods company .
as the dayton company looks for new ways to strengthen relationships with guests , company leadership recognizes an opportunity to develop and introduce a new kind of mass - market discount store that caters to value - oriented shoppers seeking a higher - quality experience . at the time , the move toward mass - market retail is considered risky by some industry experts as it moves away from the company ' s dominant position as a department store retailer . by demonstrating visionary leadership , the company takes the first step toward transforming the organization from a family - run department - store chain into one of the nation ' s largest discount - store chains .
softkey international inc . shifted its hostile bid for the learning company today to a cash offer of $ 65 a share , or about $ 606 million . softkey had previously offered a combination of cash and shares , which had declined in value as softkey shares fell by 24 percent in the last few weeks .
free fall is a crisis of obsolescence and decline that can happen at any point in a company ' s life cycle .
o’leary has an impressive track record . he started software publishing firm softkey out of his basement , grew it phenomenally , acquired the learning company ( tlc ) in 1995 for over $ 600 million , then sold it to mattel in 1999 in a stock deal worth over $ 3 . 5 billion .
snapple , which is now being bought by cadbury schweppes , was sold three years later for $ 300m . the learning company fiasco is a huge embarrassment for jill barad , the former mattel chief executive ousted in february with compensation of $ 50m . she masterminded the acquisition with the aim of transforming mattel in one swoop into the second - largest maker of consumer software behind microsoft .
bruce b . dayton and kenneth n . dayton retire from the dayton - hudson corporation board of directors , ending 80 years of direct family involvement with the company .
i have no intention of changing the prices of any of the learning company ' s products ,
mr . o ' leary said in a telephone interview .
i do want to work with their developers to produce products to service that 40 percent of the market that hasn ' t bought educational software because of pricing issues .
there is a popular line of educational software mystery games based on carmen sandiego . each game of the series has a particular theme and subject , where the player must use his or her knowledge to find carmen or any of her innumerable henchmen . this series was originally produced by brøderbund , but it is now produced by the learning company .
sales of so - called edutainment software on cd - rom have slumped as consumers have shifted their interest to the internet and video games . and learning company ' s core offerings - - like reader rabbit and carmen san diego - - are seen as tired entries in a maturing market , analysts said .
softkey ' s successful bid , combined with its earlier acquisition of minnesota educational computing , makes it the largest company in the fast - growing educational software market . learning co . had entered a friendly merger agreement with broderbund last month , but softkey made a higher offer and then clinched the deal with a sweetened all - cash bid last week .
shares of the learning company , which is based in fremont , calif . , closed today at $ 67 . 125 , up $ 3 . 875 , in nasdaq trading , while softkey shares rose $ 1 . 875 , to $ 31 . 125 . broderbund shares fell $ 1 , to $ 58 .
hayley kissel , an analyst at merrill lynch , said the important point for mattel about the learning company sale was
just getting rid of it .
she said :
we have the benefit of 20 - 20 hindsight here . mattel didn ' t invest in its brands and it was an industry that was poised to decline because of intrusion from the internet .
the company ' s first expansion outside downtown minneapolis takes place in march , when a full - line dayton ' s is established in rochester , minn .
this game is a blast and i play it with my 6 year old grandson and he loves it too . it ' s a great learning tool . enjoy !
the leading families of products were the reader rabbit series for ages 2–8 , the treasure mountain reading - math - science series for ages 5–9 , the super solver series for ages 7–12 , the student writing & publishing center for ages 7–adult and the foreign language learning series for ages 15–adult .
kevin o ' leary , softkey ' s president , said that he would not alter the current products of the learning company or m . e . c . c . and that he hoped to retain those companies ' development staffs . he said previous comments he had made about
carving
their titles into multiple products had been misinterpreted .
learn a language on the go with our ios and android apps . continue learning even without wifi , with an offline mode to keep going in those hard - to - reach places .
treasure cove ! is a side - scrolling educational / adventure game whose objective is to plug pipes that are leaking oil into the ocean . the game takes place in the fictional treasure cove which is being polluted with byproducts from experiments done by the master of mischief , a common antagonist of the learning company ' s super seekers games . the player takes on the role of the super seeker , whose job is to plug the pipes leaking oil and rebuild the destroyed bridge to the island by finding gems in the cove in order to stop the pollution at its source .
in november of 1999 , o’leary was fired , six months into a three - year contract . four months later , mattel’s ceo , jill barad , was forced out too . “there is nothing i can say to gloss over how devastating the learning company’s results have been to mattel’s overall performance , ” barad said as she went out the door .
edutainment game series released by the learning company , mostly during the early 1990s . the games star a nameless , gender - not - given individual in a heavy coat and nice hat who , time and time again , is called to thwart the schemes of morty maxwell , a . k . a . , the master of mischief , a villainous magician / mad scientist . the games featured math , science , logic , and reading exercises .
discovery education offers a broad range of free classroom resources that complement and extend learning beyond the bell . foster deeper engagement and opportunities for students to take charge of their own learning with high quality , engaging , relevant tools designed for today’s busy teachers and parents . explore for grades k - 5 » explore for grades 6 - 8 » explore for grades 9 - 12 »
broderbund , one of the oldest and most storied educational and entertainment software makers , had struggled recently . even a stable of best - selling titles like carmen sandiego failed to make enough money for the company to stay on its own . the novato , california , company also did not have as much distribution clout as market leaders microsoft and electronic arts .
anyone who can pick a corporate pocket for $ 3 . 6 billion is a pretty cool customer , but there are many lingering questions about the business that o ' leary and perik delivered to mattel in return for that money .
it was an ugly mess ,
says bernard stolar , a software - industry veteran who was brought in by mattel to take over the learning company from o ' leary and perik .
there had been an awful lot of mismanagement at the company .
( see the top 10 financial - crisis buzzwords . )
softkey has built a business by acquiring struggling software companies , repackaging and repricing their products . the company is going from almost no presence in the educational software market to a commanding lead , but analysts said there was no assurance these acquisitions would pay off . softkey is investing more than $ 1 billion in m . e . c . c . and the learning company at a time when the entire industry has sales of less than $ 500 million . and though softkey is an aggressive player , competitors like davidson & associates and the microsoft corporation are not likely to cede the market without a fight .
how do we go beyond blame or bias to build true learning organizations ? that is the central question of my book ,
beyond blame : learning from failure and success .
it’s a story of an incident that threatens the very existence of a large financial institution , and the counterintuitive steps its leadership took to stop the downward spiral . their approach relies on complexity science , resilience engineering , human factors , cognitive science , and organizational psychology . this approach allows us to identify more underlying conditions for failure , and make our systems ( and organizations ) safer and more resilient . it also enables us to turn our companies into learning companies .
incorporate the holiday tradition of elf on the shelf into your classroom to encourage both learning and fun ! we ' re going to be unveiling 12 days of elf on the shelf to celebrate the holiday season and help you come up with elf on the shelf ideas for your classroom . [ more ]
talks between the two sides began wednesday and quickly resulted in a deal - - despite fears that softkey , unlike broderbund , would drastically cut jobs at the fremont , calif . - based company .
in august , target board of directors names seasoned retail and consumer products veteran brian cornell as the company’s new chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer . cornell , 55 , joins target with more than 30 years of experience at some of the nation’s leading retail and consumer product companies . as target’s new ceo , cornell’s top priorities will be accelerating the company’s performance and advancing target’s omnichannel evolution .
we were delighted to work with phil and lifethrive [ parent of the learning company ] on a management program designed towards individual development and improving communication within the teams . the individuals involved embraced the program and we have seen some really positive changes within the workplace as a result . we also now use the tti assessments as part of our recruitment process which has proved invaluable in enabling us to focus our discussions and target questions for the interviewees leading to the successful recruitment of individuals who share our values and positively enhance our team .
midnight rescue ! is a side - scrolling educational game whose objective is to stop the master of mischief ( also known as morty maxwell ) , a common antagonist of the learning company ' s super solvers series and treasure series , from using his robots to paint the school invisible by midnight . to do this , the player must deduce which of the robots he is hiding in by comparing photographs taken of robots to clues obtained by reading passages left around the school and answering questions about them .
in the late 1960s , target expands across the country to the metro areas of st . louis , dallas and houston . the bullseye logo design is revamped into a more direct , memorable and poignant symbol of the company — what it stands for and offers to all guests everywhere .
in nasdaq trading today , softkey shares closed at $ 29 . 625 , up 62 . 5 cents ; the learning company advanced $ 3 . 125 , to $ 63 . 50 , and broderbund fell $ 2 . 625 , to $ 62 . 125 . analysts said investors were more likely to accept softkey ' s offer now that it was essentially an all - cash deal .
intended to broaden mattel ' s reach , the unit has instead contributed to $ 300 million in losses , a $ 7 billion drop in the company ' s market valuation and the resignation of jill e . barad as chief executive .
subsequent to the acquisition , tlc was reformed from the merger of wordstar , spinnaker , and softkey software . prior to that , softkey was a canadian company that was founded by kevin o ' leary and traded on the toronto stock exchange . during the years following the three - way merger , the combined company was led by michael j . perik as ceo , kevin o ' leary as president and r . scott murray as cfo . tlc acquired many leading brands through acquisitions of such companies as broderbund , mindscape and creative wonders . the company held some of the best - known educational , entertainment and home productivity brands in the market . these included reader rabbit , carmen sandiego , the oregon trail , myst , riven , the print shop , and printmaster .
but some childrens ' software experts said they doubted softkey ' s ability to grow its market share by cutting prices without diminishing quality . many of softkey ' s current products sell for about $ 12 . 95 , compared with learning company titles that range from $ 50 to $ 100 ; developers say there is not enough profit at lower prices to support the cost of producing quality programs .
we are digital education experts . our teaching , training and products deliver big learning outcomes for schools , universities and businesses throughout the uk . as an official provider of lego® education products and training , we are helping to change the world of education .
right from birth , children are ready to learn and at goodstart we employ the most up - to - date thinking in early childhood education to create stimulating , age - appropriate learning environments that give children a secure base and the confidence to explore .
my kids love this dvd set . it is great for learning geography , landmarks , and some history . it took longer than anticipated to receive it , at least a week longer than the estimated delivery date , but it was worth the wait .
many wall street analysts had expected broderbund to sell out . the company had reported string of disappointing financial results in the past two years . it also had to fire about 70 employees in march to control costs .
if you liked zoombinis ' logical journey and mountain rescue - - or even if you never heard of either one - - this game will proove a fantastic bit of fun and learning for your children .
buried in the back pages of the financial press last october was a story about the sale of his mutual fund company , o’leary funds , to canoe financial , an investment firm run by former dragons’ den cast member and entrepreneur brett wilson .
even one of o’leary’s success stories is not all what it cracks up to be . wendy johannson and claudia harvey invented a utility glove for women and needed $ 50 , 000 when they went on the show in 2009 for their company , digit apparel inc . on - air o’leary agreed to give them the money in return for three percent of royalties . after the show , they eventually gave him 10 percent of the company .
subsequent to the acquisition , tlc was reformed from the merger of wordstar , spinnaker and softkey software and was relocated from san francisco and toronto to cambridge , ma . prior to that , softkey was a canadian company that was founded by kevin o ' leary and traded on the toronto stock exchange . during the years following the three - way merger , the combined company was led by michael j . perik as ceo , kevin o ' leary as president and r . scott murray as cfo . the trio led the combination of many leading brands through acquisitions of such companies as broderbund , mecc , mindscape , and creative wonders . the company held some of the best - known educational and office productive brands in the market . these included reader rabbit , carmen sandiego , the oregon trail , myst , riven , the print shop and printmaster .
however , learning company began losing money as soon as it was acquired and the resulting 59pc slump in mattel ' s shares has wiped out $ 3 . 1 billion of market capitalisation . yesterday , robert eckert , mattel ' s new chief executive , announced 350 job losses , a $ 250m restructuring charge and a dividend cut from 9 cents a quarter to 5 cents a year with the aim of saving $ 200m a year .
when asked what he considered to be the most successful moment at dpr , doug answered , “we’ve had a lot of great successes , but i can’t think of one defining moment , because we’re not done yet . as the company continues to move forward , new opportunities constantly arise . one way we measure success , however , is by not letting employees down and keeping people within the company challenged and moving up . ”
subsequent to the acquisition , tlc was reformed from the merger of wordstar , spinnaker and softkey software and was relocated from san francisco and toronto to cambridge , ma . prior to that , softkey was a canadian company that was founded by kevin o ' leary and traded on the toronto stock exchange . during the years following the three - way merger , the combined company was led by michael j . perik as ceo , kevin o ' leary as president and r . scott murray as cfo . the trio led the combination of many leading brands through acquisitions of such companies as broderbund , mecc , mindscape , and creative wonders . the company held some of the best - known educational , entertainment and home productivity brands in the market . these included reader rabbit , carmen sandiego , the oregon trail , myst , riven , the print shop and printmaster .
moreover , the company , a general producer of software that is based in cambridge , mass . , is best known in the industry for its tactic of undercutting competitors on pricing . analysts said that its aggressive pricing could lower the profitability of the entire educational - software sector .
now open in 32 states , target partners with chip ganassi to form target chip ganassi racing . in the years to come , the new racing partnership embodies all the best aspects of what the company represents — speed , excitement , a modern flair , trend setting and success .
shortly after mr . dinsmore was hired , reece duca , a founding partner of the investment group of santa barbara ( igsb ) , became a member of the board of directors and purchased shares from several founders and original venture firms . in late 1986 , mr . duca was elected chairman of the board and for the next decade he devoted a significant amount of his time to help tlc develop and refine a successful business model and strategy for this nascent industry . igsb became the learning company ' s largest shareholder .
after a decade of significant growth , dayton ' s transforms itself from a regional department - store company to a national retailer . the company ' s initial public offering ( ipo ) is oct . 18 , 1967 . president donald c . dayton takes the new position of chairman of the board , and bruce b . dayton steps into the president role . the corporation has five autonomous divisions : dayton ' s department stores , target stores , b . dalton bookseller , dayton jewelers and dayton development company . the corporate expansion opens new doors and becomes the first step in bringing dayton ' s foundation of affordable , quality fashion , innovative management , community giving and good corporate governance to a national audience .
in nasdaq trading thursday , learning co . gained $ 3 . 875 to $ 67 . 125 , and softkey added $ 1 . 875 to $ 31 . 125 ; broderbund fell $ 1 to $ 58 .
and although we want to do lower - priced versions of learning co . software , we will leave it to their programmers and product managers to decide what these products will look like ,
he said .
in addition to acquiring learning co . and minnesota educational computing , cambridge , mass . - based softkey is spending $ 106 . 5 million to buy tribune co . ' s compton ' s newmedia inc . and compton ' s learning co . in return , tribune co . is investing $ 150 million in softkey , becoming its biggest shareholder . softkey has grown rapidly through acquisitions , often buying weak companies on the cheap and sharply cutting overhead and prices .
dayton company creates wbah radio , one of only six radio stations in minneapolis and the first radio broadcast station to be operated by a department store in the twin cities . at the time , it is the most powerful in the entire midwest . in less than two months , the station sets an official distance record when the local broadcasting is heard in england .
the first target store credit card , known as the target guest card , launches in 1995 . it ' s followed in 2001 by the target visa® credit card , the first company credit card to be accepted at major retailers nationwide . renamed redcards in 2004 , the portfolio of credit products expands to add the target check card in 2007 .
dayton corporation joins forces with the j . l . hudson company of detroit to create the dayton - hudson corporation . the two companies have similar merchandising philosophies and decades of commitment to outstanding corporate governance . the celebration of this new partnership includes a three - day long flower show on wall street . the merger establishes the corporation as one of the 15 largest non - food retailers in the nation .
there were other miscues for o’leary , too . in 2004 , he was appointed to the board of environmental management solutions inc . ( later called englobe inc . ) , an ontario waste management firm . soon afterwards , the board fired the company’s ceo . but the company’s leadership was unable to arrest a decline in its fortunes brought on by an overambitious acquisition program ; the stock price slid from close to $ 4 to 3 . 5 cents during o’leary’s term of almost five years as a director .
broderbund and the learning company had earlier agreed on a stock swap initially worth about $ 550 million , but that slipped to less than $ 500 million as broderbund ' s share price dropped . when softkey changed a previous cash and stock offer to all cash earlier this week , broderbund elected not to raise its offer , which had already been sweetened once . choosing between $ 67 . 50 in cash and a partial broderbund share worth substantially less than that , the board took the cash .