Dive Brief:

• On Thursday, News Corp announced it had sold its education arm, Amplify, to a group of private investors that includes former New York City schools chief and CEO Joel Klein.
• The news followed widespread layoffs on Wednesday that affected upwards of 500 employees.
• Aside from Klein, the new leadership team includes Larry Berger, who will take the reins of "the new Amplify," as well as Chief Product Officer Laurence Holt, Chief Operating Officer Pat Smith, and several other top executives from Amplify’s various divisions.

Dive Insight:

So ends the saga of News Corp’s Amplify. First, the media company promised to transform education, then its efforts faltered along with sales. For the past year, the company seemed to simply hobble along. But the sale to current leaders indicates that there’s a sense, at least internally, that belief in its original promise remains, amid deep staff cuts and an uncertain path forward.

In an email to remaining employees, Berger wrote, “I look forward to working with you to build great products and a great company. I am proud of the technology we’ve invented, the educational innovations we’ve pioneered, and the results we’ve delivered—and most importantly, of the team we’ve assembled.”