Joining Forces for Strong Nursing Care
Stuttgart/Berlin/Schwerin – Thieme has signed an agreement with Bertelsmann to acquire Relias Learning GmbH and the Relias platform for digital education in the health and social services sectors. With this move, the digital health services provider is significantly expanding its commitment to nursing: With 1 million users, Thieme and Relias will support approximately half of all nursing professionals across Germany in their continuing education and professional development going forward. This will particularly benefit the many millions of people in Germany who rely on care. Following the sale of its German-language business, Relias will continue to focus on its home market in the United States as part of the Bertelsmann Education Group.
Person-centered medicine thrives on strong nursing care. According to the WHO, nursing is a stabilizing force for our healthcare systems and indispensable for addressing current and future challenges in healthcare. [1] Approximately 1.8 million people currently work in nursing in Germany. [2] The demand for well-trained nursing professionals who engage in continuous professional development continues to rise sharply in our aging society. [3]
“Germany’s healthcare and long-term care system is under immense pressure. At Thieme, our goal is to inspire people to pursue careers in nursing and to give them easy access to high-quality content for training, continuing education, and professional development. With Relias, we will be able to address the diverse needs of nursing professionals even more precisely in the future and strengthen their role in collaboration with other professions,” emphasizes Joana Hauff. She represents the fifth generation of the Thieme family business and is committed to personalized and inclusive medicine.
Two Nursing Experts Partnering for Care
Relias is one of the leading providers of digital education in the health and social services sectors, with a particularly strong presence in long-term care, social service organizations, small and medium-sized practices, medical care centers (MVZ), and hospitals. Through mandatory continuing education and digital compliance management, Relias contributes to greater safety and higher quality of care in over 3,000 facilities across German-speaking countries today.
For many years, Thieme has been the market-leading provider of information for all stakeholders in the healthcare sector. The digital learning and teaching platform I care PLUS, as well as the learning and knowledge platform CNE – Certified Nursing Education, are used by over 1,000 schools for healthcare professionals, hospitals, and long-term care facilities in German-speaking countries. These institutions use the platforms to develop professional competencies efficiently and with digital support, in line with curricula frameworks, legal requirements, and individual needs. Since April 2026, Thieme has also been addressing professionals in geriatric care through CNE Geriatric Care.
Nursing Knowledge for the Future of Care
“With Relias, nursing teams in small and medium-sized facilities can also ensure a high standard of care for their patients by making relevant nursing knowledge accessible and providing digital support for continuing education, compliance, and documentation processes,” explains Benjamin Hebborn, Senior Vice President of Digital Core Business & Future Learning at Thieme. “This allows us to significantly expand our offerings—particularly for long-term care—and extend our reach.”
The Relias team, consisting of approximately 60 members, also brings valuable skills and market knowledge to the table. “We’re not only gaining a new, attractive product, but also professional, technological, and sales expertise that will help us take a major step forward,” says Hebborn.
For the Bertelsmann Education Group as well, Thieme is the ideal new home for Relias German-language business. “Thieme stands for a strong brand, high levels of subject-matter expertise, and high-quality content,” emphasizes Benedikt Dalkmann, Chief Financial Officer of the Bertelsmann Education Group. “We are convinced that the German-language Relias business is in very good hands at Thieme. At the same time, the U.S. home market remains Relias’s clear focus within the Bertelsmann Education Group.”
“With Thieme, we will have an owner that is deeply rooted in the German healthcare market, and especially in nursing,” says Adrian Thiessen, Managing Director of Relias Learning GmbH. “This gives us the opportunity to combine Relias’ strengths in digital education, continuing education management, and compliance with Thieme’s subject matter expertise and content. This will create a broad range of offerings from a single source for our customers and users.”
For Relias’ customers, day-to-day operations will remain unchanged for the time being following the completion of the acquisition. Looking ahead, the platform, content, and service offerings of Thieme and Relias are to be closely integrated to provide healthcare and social services organizations with a broad range of offerings tailored to their specific needs.
Closing of the transcaction remains subject to the required antitrust clearance.
Quellen
[1] World Health Organization (2025). State of the World's Nursing 2025: Investing in Education, Jobs, Leadership and Service Delivery. Geneva: WHO.
[2] Berufe - Blickpunkt Arbeitsmarkt: Arbeitsmarktsituation in Pflegeberufen - Statistik der Bundesagentur für Arbeit (Mai 2026)
[3] Bis 2049 werden voraussichtlich mindestens 280 000 zusätzliche Pflegekräfte benötigt - Statistisches Bundesamt (24. Januar 2024)