SoftKey Ups the Ante in Bid for Learning Co. : Software: Revised offer of $606 million exceeds that of rival suitor Broderbund by 8%.

SoftKey International Inc. raised its hostile takeover bid Monday for computer software maker Learning Co. to about $606 million, topping a friendly offer by Broderbund Software Inc. by about 8%.

SoftKey, which also raised the rhetoric in its battle with Broderbund, said it is offering to buy slightly more than 8.59 million shares of Learning Co. for $65 a share in cash and will swap its stock for any remaining Learning Co. shares.

“Forty percent of homes with children that have PCs don’t have educational software. As a parent, I’m outraged,” SoftKey President Kevin O’Leary said in announcing the new bid.

SoftKey and Broderbund have been in an increasingly bitter battle for Learning Co. in an effort to boost their positions in the fast-growing market for educational products for personal computers.

“We will dramatically expand the educational software market with a proven strategy, help millions of children and add significant value for shareholders,” O’Leary said. “We’re going full-steam-ahead.”

Learning Co. and Broderbund thought they had a $440-million merger locked up in August, but then SoftKey launched a hostile bid worth nearly $600 million in October. Broderbund responded by sweetening its friendly stock deal to about $560 million in November.

All three companies have become entangled in lawsuits alleging federal securities law violations regarding the various proposed transactions.

A look at SoftKey and Broderbund’s software titles shows two widely different companies.

The battle pits Broderbund, maker of the popular Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? and Myst, against SoftKey’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Calendar and American Heritage Talking Dictionary for control of Learning Co.’s Reader Rabbit educational series and French Vocabulary Builder.

Analysts said SoftKey’s hostile offer, almost unheard-of in the software industry, risks scaring key personnel away from Learning Co. SoftKey says it has successfully integrated other companies.

Learning Co. directors endorsed the Broderbund offer.