It's been a busy year for e-learning company SmartForce, as the latest announcement confirms their merger with fellow provider SkillSoft as of 6 September.

Back in January, we reported that SmartForce was to acquire e-learning technology providers Centra, only for the deal to be called off at the beginning of April as both companies reported they expected to record shortfalls in revenue for the first quarter of 2002.

Then, in June, SmartForce <a href="https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?ap=1&id=83224&d=pnd&dateformat=%25o-%25B
">announced its intention to merge with SkillSoft to create one of the biggest e-learning providers in the market, with the combined company led by management and a board of directors derived from both companies. With the confirmation of the merger this week, the name of SmartForce is due to disappear completely as the company legally changes its name to SkillSoft. The new company will bring together SmartForce's IT e-learning content and SkillSoft's business skills, IT and business reference materials.

Commented Chuck Moran, the President and Chief Executive Officer of SkillSoft: "The beauty of this merger is that it brings together two companies, each with strong offerings targeted to different needs in our target corporate customers. By combining these complementary offerings, we can provide customers with a broad range of IT and business courseware and referenceware that meets the diverse learning needs of any organisation."

In a separate development, a press release was sent out last week on behalf of technology providers Ascot Systems to refute any claim that SmartForce had made a bid for them, although it's unclear whether SmartForce was aware of these claims.