Kaplan is buying SmartPros in a move that follows a reshaping of Kaplan, a subsidiary of Graham Holdings. Kaplan has agreed to pay about $16.9 million in cash for SmartPros, which provides continuing education courses for accounting and other professionals.

The agreement follows the September sale of Kaplan Higher Education to Education Corporation of America. The deal did not include the sale of the KHE division's Kaplan University.

"SmartPros' continuing education courses in accountancy for professionals in the U.S. will provide a domestic complement to our existing global accountancy training programs," said Andrew Temte, CFA and president of Kaplan Professional Education, said in a prepared statement. Temte noted Kaplan offers accountancy training in the U.K., Singapore and Hong Kong

SmartPros has a customer base of about 3,000 companies, which primarily includes corporate, accounting and financial services firms. The company reported $13.5 million in revenue for 2014, down from $15.3 million in 2013. The company lost $1.6 million in the most recently completed year, down from earning of $143,000 the prior year.

The bottom line reflected a loss of $770,265 from discontinued operations that include the sale of most assets of its Skye Multimedia subsidiary and the discontinued custom ethics business. There was also a loss of $864,999 from continuing operations.

Kaplan, the education division, had revenue of $523.6 million for the second quarter of 2015 ended June 30, down 4 percent from $543 million for the same period a year earlier. Kaplan Higher Education had revenue of $240.7 million in the most recently ended period, off 4 per cent from $251.9 million a year ago. The business being sold centers primarily on 38 campuses

Revenue for Kaplan University, which is not being sold. was $41.1 million, off 7.7 percent from $44.5 million in last year's corresponding period.