A few weeks ago, when News Corp. announced it would hire New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein as a senior advisor, it highlighted Rupert Murdoch’s other interest, aside from the iPad: education.
It appears Murdoch is serious about building out that part of his sprawling media empire. Late Monday, News Corp. announced that it has acquired 90 percent of Wireless Generation, a Brooklyn-based education technology firm.
News Corp. is paying $360 million for its majority stake.
"When it comes to K through 12 education, we see a $500 billion sector in the U.S. alone," Murdoch said in a statement announcing the deal.
When Murdoch tapped Klein, he said the education sector "has long been in need of innovation.”
The deal also serves as a warning shot aimed at McGraw-Hill, which sold BusinessWeek to Bloomberg last year, in part, to focus on its education products — and to let someone else deal with the magazine's heavy debt.
[Photo illustration by TheWrap]
