Learning Company, The
Moby ID: 40
- Mattel Interactive (from 1999-05-13 to 2001-09-05)
- Learning Company, Inc., The (from 1996-10 to 1999-05-12)
- Learning Co., Inc., The (from 1981 to 1996-09)
- Advanced Learning Technology (from 1980 to 1981)
Overview edit · view history
The Learning Company was co-founded in 1980 as Advanced Learning Technology, in 1981 changed to The Learning Co., by Ann McCormick, Leslie Grimm and Frona Kahn and based in California. The first releases focused on teaching young children math, reading and science skills. The most lucrative properties the company developed were Super Solvers, Reader Rabbit and ClueFinders. The company joined the New York Stock Exchange in 1992.
In December 1995 The Learning Co. was acquired by SoftKey International. In October 1996, SoftKey International changed its company name to The Learning Company, Inc. and relocated it to Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange with Ticker Symbol TLC, and the TLC initials were added to the company logo. The company also operated the subsidiary TLC Properties, Inc. from the same location.
Acquisitions by The Learning Company, Inc. included:
- Microsystems Software, Inc. (Oct. 1997)
- Creative Wonders LLC (Dec. 1997)
- Mindscape, Inc. (April 1998)
- PF Magic Inc. (May 1998)
- Sofsource, Inc. (June 1998)
- Brøderbund (Aug. 1998)
The Learning Company, Inc. and all its subsidiaries and divisions was acquired by Mattel Inc., the toy company, on May 13, 1999 and renamed Mattel Interactive. Mattel Interactive had the following international offices in addition to the ones in the United States. Many of these were renamed Learning Company Inc. locations.
- Mattel Interactive Asia Pacific (Richmond, Australia)
- Mattel Interactive Japan (Tokyo, Japan)
- Mattel Interactive France / TLC-Edusoft (Boulogne Billancourt, France)
- Mattel Interactive Northern Europe B.V. (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
- Mattel Interactive Deutschland GmbH (Oberhaching, Germany)
- Mattel Interactive, S.R.L. (Milano, Italy)
- Mattel Interactive Spain (Barcelona, Spain)
- Mattel Interactive Ltd (Crawley, West Sussex, UK)
- Mattel Argentina, S.A. (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- Mattel de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.
- Mattel do Brasil Ltda (Sao Paulo, Brazil)
- Mattel de Venezuela, C.A. (Caracas, Venezuela)
- Mattel Chile, S.A. (Santiago, Chile)
- Mattel Colombia, S.A. (Bogota, Colombia)
Mattel then sold it to the Gores Technology Group in October 2000. After taking over The Learning Company, Gores divided it into three groups:
- One specializing in games was branded GAME Studios by Gores in January 2001 and then was sold to French publisher Ubi Soft in March 2001. This included rights to all Strategic Simulations, Inc. games. The SSI brand has since been retired, and all other acquired properties have been absorbed into Ubisoft.
- A second which focused on educational software, kept The Learning Company name, and was acquired by Riverdeep Interactive Learning Limited in September 2001.
- The third group, named Brøderbund, was put in charge of home productivity software. Riverdeep then acquired all of Brøderbund in August 2002.
The Learning Company became a brand of Riverdeep Interactive Learning Limited, which owned all previous TLC and Brøderbund educational/edutainment franchises including Reader Rabbit, Carmen Sandiego, ClueFinders, and Oregon Trail.
The Learning Company became a brand of Houghton Mifflin Company (now Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) in 2006 when Riverdeep merged with that company.
Credited on 210 Games from 1981 to 2012
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History +
- September 6, 2001
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Riverdeep Interactive Learning buys Broderbund's Education Division, The Learning Company. TLC returns to its former name, Brøderbund Software.
- March 21, 2001
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Ubi Soft Entertainment acquires Game Studios, the entertainment division of The Learning Company, from Gores Technology Group
- October 2000
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The company is acquired by Gores Technology Group.
- May 13, 1999
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Mattel, the worldwide toy company, buys The Learning Company and renames it Mattel Interactive.
- August 31, 1998
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Brøderbund Software merges with and becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Learning Company.
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Trivia +
Early company locations & contact information:
1987
The Learning Company
6493 Kaiser Drive
Fremont, California 94555
USA
Toll Free Phone: 1-800-852-2255
1986
The Learning Company
545 Middlefield Road
Menlo Park, California 94025
USA
Toll Free Phone: 1-800-852-2255
1982
The Learning Co.
4370 Alpine Road
Portola Valley, CA 94025
USA
Most locations in the United States that originally belonged to The Learning Company, Inc. (1996-1999) were used by Mattel Interactive after their acquisition of TLC in May 1999 until October 2000. Telephone and Fax numbers remained the same. Any locations that were unique to either company are listed at the bottom.
The Learning Company, Inc. (Main headquarters) and TLC Properties, Inc. (subsidiary)
Mattel Interactive (Cambridge office)
One Athenaeum Street
Cambridge, MA 02142
Toll Free Phone: 1-800-227-5609
Telephone: 617-494-1200
Customer Service: 617-761-3000
Fax: 617-494-1219
The Learning Company, Inc. website: www.learningco.com
Mattel Interactive websites: www.mattelinteractive.com - www.mattel-interactive.com - www.thelearningcompany.com
Framingham office:
Internet Solutions Group
600 Worcester Road
Framingham, MA
Telephone: 508-416-1000
Fax: 508-626-8515
Fremont office:
6493 Kaiser Drive
Fremont, CA 94555
Telephone: 510-792-2101
Fax: 510-713-6072
Novato branch: (Mindscape)
88 Rowland Way
Novato, CA 94945
Telephone: 415-895-2000
Additional Novato location (Mattel Interactive only):
The Learning Company School
500 Redwood Blvd
Novato, CA 94947
Telephone: 415-382-4400
Website: www.learningcompanyschool.com
Note: This location was called Riverdeep in 2004
Riverdeep's Learning Company website: www.learningcompany.com
Minneapolis branch (The Learning Company, Inc. only):
6160 Summit Drive North
Minneapolis, MN 55430
Telephone: 612-569-1500
Fax: 612-569-1551
Hiawatha office (Mattel Interactive only):
1 Martha's Way
Hiawatha, Iowa 52233
Telephone: 319-395-9626
Fax: 319-395-0217
Related Web Sites +
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The Learning Company at Wikipedia
Featuring a list of the Learning Company's games and it's history.
Frequent Collaborators
Companies- 14 games with Epic Games Tools LLC
- 13 games with Riverdeep Interactive Learning Limited
- 9 games with ImaginEngine
- 7 games with WebTone Productions
- 7 games with Fluent Solutions
- 6 games with Animotion, Inc.
- 6 games with ImageBuilder Software, Inc.
- 6 games with Amaze Entertainment, Inc.
- 6 games with SoftKey Multimedia Inc.
- 6 games with International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)
- 33 games with Brian Burge
- 31 games with Sid Weber
- 29 games with Drayson R. Nowlan
- 29 games with Alan Nu
- 27 games with Amy Smith-Boylan
- 27 games with Dan Mizuba
- 26 games with Hugo Paz
- 25 games with Andrew Kawamura
- 24 games with Shelly Hall
- 23 games with Ray Boylan
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