Having just secured a funding injection of £1.4m, e-learning providers fuel have announced they have acquired fellow providers Wide Learning.

Both companies are established names in the market, but while fuel specialises in bespoke content for corporate induction, and product, sales and software applications training for a wide range of markets, Wide Learning has specialised in the creation and delivery of customisable regulatory, compliance and business skills e-learning solutions and selling them to the financial services and professional services sectors.

Steve Dineen, CEO and founder of fuel says: "We have been looking to add to our organic growth by an acquisition...These developments bring together two companies highly influential and successful in their markets to create an even more powerful and efficient organisation. It will enable us to maximise the return on our resources and make further inroads for both brands in other markets." He continued to add that the company would be looking to expand further in the future.

This is fuel's first acquisition since recently attracting a private investment of £1.4m from Stanley Davis to fund growth and expansion.

The announcement comes almost a year after another big e-learning merger as Skillsoft and SmartForce became one company, bringing together SmartForce's IT e-learning content and SkillSoft's business skills, IT and business reference materials.