In a week full of surprises to the online education world, 2U announced it is acquiring GetSmarter, a South African startup that delivers short online certification courses to distance-learning students in partnership with many of the world's top-tier universities. The price tag for the deal is $103 million in cash plus an earn-out provision of as much as $20 million in cash. 2U was an early-in to building online degree programs, mostly master's, for top universities including University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, University of Southern California and Syracuse University. It saw $205.9 million in revenue in 2016, an increase of 37% from 150.2 million in 2015. U.S. higher education represents a $550 million marketplace while global higher education is a $1.9 trillion industry.

Source: Forbes May 02, 2017 19:41 UTC