Acquisition

Pearson PLC
6 July 2000


FORUM AND FT KNOWLEDGE COMBINE TO CREATE LEADING CORPORATE TRAINING AND
E-LEARNING COMPANY

FT Knowledge, Pearson plc's business education and management development
operation, is to acquire The Forum Corporation, one of America's top corporate
training companies, for $90m.

The merger of FT Knowledge and Forum will create one of the world's leading
corporate training and e-Learning companies, delivering significant revenue
synergies and a greatly enhanced service for customers. The combined business
will command greater international reach and be able to deliver a much more
comprehensive range of online and offline learning and training programmes to
both individuals and corporations. It will offer a full range of accredited
courses and qualifications (in partnership with a number of top business
schools and professional bodies) across a wider range of business related
subjects and be at the forefront of the rapidly growing e-learning market. 

Commenting on the merger, Pippa Wicks, CEO of FT Knowledge, said  'In the
knowledge economy, the drive to learn new skills is one of the key factors
that determines the success of individuals and companies. This increasing
demand for highly skilled workers makes it a great time to be in corporate
training and management development. Forum is a very successful training
organisation and it makes a superb fit with FT Knowledge. Together, we have
the scale, reach, content and technology to create one of the very best
corporate training and eLearning companies.'

John Humphrey, chairman and CEO of Forum, added: 'The brands, products and
services and capabilities of the combined organisations, together with the
technology and content resources of Pearson, means that we can offer our
clients unbeatable solutions. We at Forum are absolutely delighted to be
working together with FT Knowledge to capture the exciting opportunities of
the rapidly developing learning market.'

Forum creates and implements learning strategies and corporate training
programmes to over 130 of the Fortune 500 companies in leadership, management,
sales, customer service and brand development. A growing number of US
corporations are looking to 'outsource' the management of all their training
needs and Forum is the leading company in this market. It delivers many of its
programmes online and is developing insightforum, a web-enabled training
programme that enables staff managing customer relations to learn as an
integral part of their day-to-day work. In the year ended 30 April 2000, Forum
made sales of some $74m.

FT Knowledge specialises in business, management development and finance
programmes for individuals and corporations. It is working with leading
academic institutions to deliver a range of online executive management
courses and business and finance qualifications. This year, the combined
business is expected to have annual pro forma sales of over $110 million.

The merger of Forum and FT Knowledge will create a combined business that will
be in a strong position to capitalise on the growing demand, from both
corporations and individuals, for learning solutions and training programmes
in executive development, sales, customer service, management, leadership and
finance.  In the US alone, IDC projects that the size of the corporate
e-Learning market will increase from $1 billion in 1999 to over $11 billion in
2003.


The major benefits of the merger are:

* Forum's strong US-based business, combined with FT Knowledge's market
leadership in Europe, and the strong presence both companies have in Asia,
creates a truly international business education and corporate training
company. 
* Forum's focus on the corporate learning market fits well with FT Knowledge's
strengths in creating, marketing and supporting degree programmes and
accredited courses for individuals and corporations. Together with FT
Knowledge's leading position in the provision of financial training to the
investment and banking communities, this generates major opportunities to
cross-sell products from a deeper, richer range of content to a much wider
client base.
* Forum's ability to meet the needs of corporations looking to 'outsource'
their training needs will be strengthened by the greater product range,
extensive accreditation services and international reach that FT Knowledge
brings. 
* Combining Forum's e-learning programmes with FT Knowledge's own online
presence will accelerate the development of new Internet products that serve
the rapidly growing corporate and distance learning markets. 
* These online products will also enrich the Business Education channel of
Pearson's Learning Network, which aims to be the premier source of educational
support spanning the entire career of a business professional. Professional
resources, including certification programmes, career and executive
consultation, subscription services and a wide range of hard and digital goods
will be marketed and sold through the Learning Network.

Pippa Wicks will be CEO of the combined company. John Humphrey will chair 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 regulatory approval.


For more information:

John Fallon              Pearson plc              + 44 (0) 20 7411 2310


Notes to Editors

FT Knowledge

FT Knowledge (FTK) is Pearson plc's business and management education
division.  FTK offers accredited degree and diploma programmes in association
with partners ranging from professional institutions such as the Chartered
Institute of Marketing to leading US and UK universities, including Wharton
Business School and the University of Michigan Business School. FTK also
provides learning consultancy, custom-designed management development, and
design of learning resources and systems to major organisations throughout the
world.  A number of academic institutions use FTK course material as the basis
for their own degree programmes and other courses. The New York Institute of
Finance, part of FTK, provides specialised financial markets training to Wall
Street and other financial centres. FTK also supports 25,000 students
following programmes in more than 140 countries. 

The Forum Corporation

The Forum Corporation is a global leader in workplace learning that
specializes in helping large, leading companies create learning strategies,
develop learning solutions, manage learning organisations and deploy their
brand. For three decades, it has helped companies build competitive advantage
and lasting customer loyalty, and improve leadership, management,
team-building, sales, sales management and service excellence. Its customers
include 132 members of the Fortune 500.

Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Forum offers comprehensive approaches
to curriculum design and management, instructor services, e-Learning,
executive coaching, implementation planning and measurement. Performance
Compass, the company's award-winning web-based development system, combines
cutting edge technology with comprehensive online 360 degree feedback and
immediate access to world-class learning resources. Forum's co-founder,
Chairman and CEO John W. Humphrey, is recognized as one of the US's foremost
authorities on human resource development. He has served as chairman of the
board of governors of the American Society for Training & Development, the
industry's leading trade group. Among Forum's strategic partners are Harvard
Business School Publishing, Strategic Management Group, and VIS Development
Corp.

The Worldwide Corporate Training Market

The US corporate e-Learning market is projected to increase significantly over
the next four years to over $11 billion in 2003 from $1 billion in 1999. A
similar pattern of growth is projected in Europe and in Asia. There are a
number of factors driving this growth:
1. The evolution of the major world economies from a manufacturing base to one
that is service and knowledge-based - a phenomenon evident in countries
ranging from the United States to India.
2. The rapidly changing business environment means that many more companies
see training as an essential weapon to remain competitive.  Equipping their
employees with the skills needed to respond to new technologies and business
processes is seen as necessary, not discretionary, expenditure.
3. The shortage of skilled workers, combined with the emergence of training as
a key tool to retain and motivate an increasingly mobile workforce.
4. The increasing trend towards outsourcing training budgets to third parties,
allowing the company to concentrate on its core competencies, decrease costs
and improve margins, while, at the same time, offering employees a
comprehensive range of training options and courses.