Online professional certification courses provider Simplilearn has acquired US-based digital marketing training company Market Motive for $10 million. Following the acquisition, Market Motive will continue to operate as an independent arm of Simplilearn. Market Motive's co-founder Michael Stebbins will serve as CEO along with his entire team. He will also join Simplilearn as the chief innovation officer and work with the company’s director of US operations Prashant Parmar in further expanding its presence in North America. Courses in social media marketing, digital advertising web analytics and marketing automation will be also be added to Simplilearn's platform. Founded by Stebbins, John Marshall and Avinash Kaushik in 2007, Market Motive has delivered web-based certification courses to companies like Microsoft, Home Depot, Dell, Ogilvy, Federal Express and JP Morgan Chase, as well as educational institutes like Duke University, Benedictine University and Concordia University. The courses on offer provide training in areas like SEO, web analytics, social media marketing, conversion optimization, mobile marketing, PPC advertising, and content marketing among others. Simplilearn funding: In April this year, Simplilearn had raised $15 million funding led by Mayfield, with participation from Kalaari Capital and Helion Venture Partners. Simplilearn CEO Krishna Kumar had said that the funds will be used to invest in the platform, expand course coverage, and further expand in the US and other primary markets. The company has raised a total of $27 million so far, including $10 million from Helion Venture Partners and Kalaari Capital in September 2013, and an undisclosed amount of funding from Kalaari Capital in August 2012. Series of key appointments: Last year, the company…
