Online training firm nets $40 million

Internet training company Ninth House Network on Monday plans to announce a $40 million second round of funding.

Chase Capital Partners is expected to lead the round, along with Merrill Lynch.

Ninth House is a broadband learning network, providing on-demand, cinema-style employee training. The company said its training services include storytelling, instant advice, mentors and Hollywood-style role-playing that lets employees rehearse real-world business skills.

Net-based training is heating up as new players enter the market and companies increasingly take their businesses global, building a new demand for the service. In August, business education and training company Click2learn.com received $10 million in private equity funding from company founder Paul Allen and a unit of Credit Suisse First Boston.

Last month, Ninth House rival Saba said it raised another $30 million, with Berkeley International Capital joining early backers Sequoia Capital and Crosslink Capital in the funding round. The company's customers include Continental Airlines, Informix and Adobe.

Other investors in Ninth House include Meta Group, Hambrecht & Quist, W. R. Hambrecht and Arena Capital. Ninth House customers include Blue Cross and Blue Shield, First Union National Bank, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Media One, Con Edison and Excite@Home.

The company's service is available on an annual subscription basis at $500 per person. The company said new programming is introduced and updated regularly to reflect a changing business environment.