GUTERSLOH, GERMANY, Oct. 24. 2014 — European media giant Bertelsman  has acquired Relias Learning, a Cary, NC online education company, for a reported $540 million. The deal is Bertelsman’s biggest U.S. acquisition since the conglomerate bought book publisher Random House in 1998.

Bertelsman’s business interests span books, magazines, broadcasting and music rights. With the Relias acquisition, the closely-held German company is now expanding into the online education market.

Relias employs nearly 300 people and will remain headquartered in Cary, managed by the current executive team.

“The company expects to hire more employees to keep pace with a burgeoning e-learning market,” Relias officials said in a statement this week.

Relias supplies online education courses and training materials for workers in the health are and disabled-care fields.

Formed in 2012 through a merger of Essential Learning and Silverchair Learning Systems, Relias said it provided more than 20 million course for more than 4,000 organizations.

Bertelsmann is buying Relias from Vista Equity Partners and LLR Partners.

About Bertelsmann

Bertelsmann has a worldwide presence in around 50 countries with its core businesses of media and services. Its key geographical markets are Western Europe – especially Germany, France, Britain and Spain – as well as the United States. Bertelsmann is also strengthening its involvement in growth regions like China, India and Brazil.

About Relias Learning

Relias Learning provides online learning solutions that offer unrivaled content, an intuitive learning experience, and meaningful savings.