Education Acquisitions in 2019

Amadeus FiRe AG has completed the acquisition of COMCAVE Holding GmbH, a Dortmund-based tech-enabled provider of vocational retraining and workforce solutions, from funds advised by Gilde Buy Out Partners. COMCAVE—known for its GECS learning ecosystem and nationwide footprint—will continue to be led by its current management as Amadeus FiRe expands its training and workforce-services capabilities across Germany.

HackerRank, the developer-skills assessment platform, has acquired Mimir, a cloud-based platform used to run and grade computer science courses at universities. The deal brings classroom-focused automated grading and course tooling into HackerRank’s assessment ecosystem to help reach and assess student developers earlier in their education.

Eden Capital, a New York–based private equity firm, acquired PDH Academy, an online continuing education and workforce training provider for real estate, healthcare, and skilled trades professionals. Eden said it will invest in PDH's organic and inorganic growth to build an industry leader in online learning.

A Cloud Guru has acquired Linux Academy to combine the two companies' cloud training content and hands-on labs, creating what the buyers describe as the world’s largest cloud computing training platform. The deal brings together complementary course libraries across AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, DevOps and security to accelerate product innovation and expand training offerings for individual learners and enterprise customers.

HighGrove Companies, a private investment firm, has acquired All Star Driver Education, Inc., a multi-state provider of driver education services founded by the Wall family and headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. HighGrove said it will partner with management to expand All Star’s geographic footprint and online course offerings to drive future growth.

Eikk Onderwijsgroep has acquired Kenneth Smit, a Netherlands-based provider of practical sales and management training. Kenneth Smit will continue to operate under its existing leadership and become a dedicated skills/competency label within Eikk's group to broaden its professional development offering.

Sanoma has acquired itslearning AS, a Bergen-based provider of a cloud-based Learning Management System (LMS), from EQT Expansion Capital II. The acquisition strengthens Sanoma's digital learning capabilities and provides itslearning with a strategic owner to support further growth across Europe and internationally. The transaction closed on 5 December 2019; financial terms were not disclosed.

Hoonuit, an education data management and analytics provider, has acquired Tembo, Inc., a company that builds public-facing assessment and accountability reporting tools. The deal expands Hoonuit's product suite with a new Community Engagement solution enabling districts and states to publish interactive school profiles, report cards and school finders for families and stakeholders.

EAB, an education research and services firm based in Washington, D.C., has acquired YouVisit, a New York–based provider of virtual campus tours and immersive interactive content for higher education. The acquisition integrates YouVisit’s 360°/immersive content platform and production capabilities into EAB’s enrollment and digital marketing services to help colleges improve recruiting and online engagement.

Health & Safety Institute (HSI), a provider of EHS software, training and compliance services (majority-owned by Waud Capital Partners), acquired Martech Media, Inc., an industrial technologies training and e‑learning provider. The acquisition adds Martech Media’s interactive industrial curriculum and training professionals to HSI’s platform to expand HSI’s industrial technical training and workforce development capabilities.

Transom Capital Group, a Los Angeles-based middle market private equity firm, has acquired Scantron Corporation, a global provider of assessment, testing, managed IT and data capture solutions. The transaction transfers Scantron from Harland Clarke Holdings to Transom, which will invest in the business to expand its assessment, certification testing and technology offerings.

O2B Kids, a portfolio company of Spire Capital, has acquired Home Away From Home (HAFH), a Palm Beach, Florida-based early education provider operating five schools (with a sixth planned). The deal expands O2B Kids' footprint in Florida to 20 schools and will allow O2B to enhance HAFH's enrichment curriculum and program offerings.

Growth Catalyst Partners has invested in TrueFire and JamPlay to form TrueFire Studios, an alliance combining their online video lesson libraries, mobile and desktop apps, and patented learning tools. The investment (with individual investor Bob Carrigan also participating) provides equity capital to advance technology, expand content production and marketing, and build a leading global destination for online music education.

BARBRI, a Leeds Equity Partners portfolio company, acquired Kaplan Altior (Altior), a U.K. legal training provider, from Kaplan Professional U.K. and Ireland. The add-on expands BARBRI's UK legal training capabilities—including SRA-approved PSC, Trainee Litigation Programme and SQE preparation—and broadens its law firm client relationships in the U.K.

SchoolMint, a K-12 enrollment management and student behavior software provider, has acquired Smart Choice Technologies from Firefly Digital to expand its enrollment management and school choice capabilities. The acquisition broadens SchoolMint's product suite and customer reach across U.S. K-12 districts, charter management organizations, and charter schools.

First Capital Partners has completed a debt and equity co-investment in Trinity3 Technology to support Rotunda Capital Partners' recapitalization of the business. Trinity3, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a value‑added reseller of tablets, laptops, PCs and related support services serving the K‑12 market across the United States.

NexPhase Capital has acquired Surgent Professional Education, a provider of exam preparation and continuing professional education (CPE) for accounting, finance and healthcare professionals. The transaction, sold by Spire Capital Partners, will support Surgent's platform expansion through investments in product, technology, sales and marketing and potential add-on acquisitions.

Providence Equity Partners has made a majority investment in n2y LLC, a Huron, Ohio–based provider of software, curriculum and tools for K‑12 special education. The Riverside Company and members of n2y's management will remain minority shareholders as Providence supports the company's organic and acquisition growth plans.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has agreed to acquire EdSurge and transition the venture-backed edtech news outlet into a nonprofit. The move will fold EdSurge's roughly 30 employees and editorial operation into ISTE to provide members with more real-time news, research and convenings while opening up new foundation funding opportunities.

Traverse Pointe Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, acquired Small Miracles, a multi-location daycare and early education provider operating 10 centers across Arizona. Traverse said it will partner with Small Miracles' existing management to support organic growth and add-on acquisitions to expand the company's geographic footprint; financial terms were not disclosed.

The Riverside Company has merged OmniUpdate, a higher-education web content management provider, with Destiny Solutions, a student lifecycle management SaaS provider, to create a cloud-based, end-to-end student digital engagement platform. The combined company will be headquartered in Camarillo, California, led by Lance Merker (CEO) and Peter DeVries (President & COO), bringing together more than 150 employees and a combined customer base of 450+ institutions; Riverside plans to expand the product suite and pursue add-on acquisitions.

Renovus Capital Partners, a Philadelphia-area private equity firm, has provided senior debt financing and made an investment in The NCHERM Group, LLC (TNG) to support the company’s expansion of services and build out its management team. The financing will enable TNG — a provider of campus risk management, Title IX compliance, and behavioral intervention training for K‑12 and higher education institutions — to scale its offerings and better serve existing clients nationwide.

Riverside Insights, a portfolio company of Alpine Investors, has acquired ESGI, a SaaS provider of teacher-led early childhood assessment, reporting and analytics tools. The add-on expands Riverside's assessment technology suite and aims to accelerate ESGI product adoption across school districts through Riverside’s distribution and research-driven assessment capabilities.

Sheffield-based Tutorful has secured a £3.2 million growth investment from NVM Private Equity to accelerate product development and build curriculum-aligned content and tutoring tools. Ishaan Chilkoti and Stephen Johnson led the deal for NVM, with Ishaan joining the Tutorful board to support the company’s expansion of its online tutoring platform.

Pine Tree Equity IV, LP recapitalized Shortridge Academy Ltd in October 2019, partnering with the company's founding entrepreneur. The recapitalization will support Shortridge's geographic expansion and enable pursuit of complementary add-on acquisitions as a platform investment.

Leeds Equity Partners has acquired VitalSmarts from TwentyEighty, Inc. VitalSmarts is a Provo, Utah–based provider of communication, execution and leadership development training, and the acquisition represents a platform investment to expand Leeds Equity's presence in the workplace learning and professional training sector. Terms were not disclosed.

LINQ, a Wilmington, North Carolina–based K‑12 administrative software provider, has acquired Registration Gateway, the online registration suite from Pennsylvania‑based SRC Solutions, Inc. The acquisition integrates Registration Gateway's student registration and records management capabilities into LINQ's broader K‑12 administrative platform to expand product functionality for school districts nationwide.

Edlio, a K-12 website and community engagement platform, has acquired OSMS, a cloud-based provider of online payments and student receipting for the K-12 market. The deal brings OSMS’s PCI-compliant payment and receipting capabilities into Edlio’s product suite to deepen its K-12 digital ecosystem and address rising demand for online payments and student receipting.

Waud Capital Partners has acquired Health & Safety Institute (HSI), a cloud-based environmental, health and safety (EHS) compliance and training platform, from The Riverside Company. The transaction provides HSI with growth capital and operational support to expand its technology platform and accelerate growth; terms were not disclosed.

Frontline Education has completed the acquisition of Perennial EdTech — the Alpine Investors-backed platform of K‑12 education software companies that includes Escape Technology, Digital Schools, eDoctrina, Healthmaster and Software Answers. The acquisition expands Frontline’s school administration platform by adding ERP, student information, assessment and school health management capabilities; terms were not disclosed.

Surgent, a Spire Capital portfolio company, has acquired Pharmaceutical Education Consultants, Inc. (PharmCon), the operator of FreeCE.com, expanding Surgent into the healthcare professional continuing education market. The add-on acquisition will let Surgent leverage its technology and shared services to enhance PharmCon's webinar and on-demand CE offerings and pursue new healthcare education opportunities.

Wardle Educational Services, Inc., doing business as Peach State Tutoring and Test Prep, was sold by owners Kathy and Don Wardle to Cornerstone Holdings International, LLC. The transaction, advised by Walden Businesses, Inc., supports the founders’ retirement and transfers the tutoring and test-prep business to Cornerstone for continued operation and growth.

SmartcareOS, LLC (Smartcare), a Las Vegas–based childcare center management software provider, has acquired Preschool2me to expand its classroom management and parent engagement capabilities. The deal integrates Preschool2me's digital daily reports, photos and messaging tools into Smartcare's platform, broadening Smartcare's product suite and customer base in the early education market.

Science Interactive Group (SIG), a portfolio company of Millpond Equity Partners and Wasena Capital Management, has acquired eScience Labs, a provider of hands-on science lab kits, virtual learning tools, and customized digital curriculum for higher education and K-12. The acquisition expands SIG's Hands-on Labs capabilities and scale, enabling the combined company to offer a more complete set of STEM lab solutions to colleges, universities and online/blended learning programs.

The Apax Digital Fund, advised by Apax Partners, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire MetaMetrics, the developer of the Lexile and Quantile frameworks, from Pamlico Capital. Apax said it will support new product development and accelerate MetaMetrics' international expansion to extend the company's measurement and analytics capabilities for education; financial terms were not disclosed.

H.I.G. Growth Partners’ portfolio company CDI Technologies has merged with Troxell Communications to form Troxell-CDI, a combined education technology solutions provider serving K‑12 and higher education across North America. The combination brings together a broader product portfolio (500+ vendors) and over 175 sales professionals to expand scale, capabilities and geographic reach across the education market.

Leeds Equity Partners has made an equity investment in Scaled Agile, Inc., the developer of the SAFe framework, partnering with founder Dean Leffingwell, the management team, and existing investor Rubicon Technology Partners. The investment will support expansion of Scaled Agile's core solutions, broader enterprise implementation services, and a deeper membership and certification offering; financial terms were not disclosed.

Oakley Capital has acquired majority stakes in maritime e‑learning providers Seagull (SG MidCo AS) and Videotel (Videotel Marine Asia Limited / Super Dragon Limited) from Herkules Private Equity Fund IV and KVH Industries. The deal combines the two best‑in‑class maritime training businesses to expand digital content, product capabilities and pursue further consolidation in the regulated maritime training market, supported by a USD 130 million unitranche financing provided by EQT Credit.

Horizon Capital (via its Horizon 2018 fund) has made a £20 million equity commitment to back a buyout of education software and services provider Juniper Education, supporting a buy-and-build strategy. Juniper — led by Executive Chairman Gavin Freed — has already completed an add-on acquisition of EES for Schools (Target Tracker) from Essex County Council and will pursue further organic and acquisitive growth to consolidate the fragmented UK schools software and services market.

Illuminate Education, a PE-backed provider of K-12 assessment and data systems, has acquired FastBridge Learning, an evidence-based K-12 assessment platform developed with researchers from the University of Minnesota. FastBridge's ownership group — including founders Dr. Ted Christ and Dr. Zoheb Borbora, CEO Terri Soutor, and the University of Minnesota — was advised by Cherry Tree on the transaction; Illuminate is backed by Insight Venture Partners.

Investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners completed an investment in Project Management Academy (also referred to as Educate 360 Holdings, LLC), with CEO Jason Cassidy and the existing management team remaining in place and retaining an equity stake. The transaction — a sale by Leeds Equity Partners — will support PMA's expansion into new markets, product portfolio growth and strategic M&A; terms were not disclosed.

The Halifax Group completed a majority investment in StrataTech Education Group, a Phoenix-based operator of post-secondary vocational schools focused on welding and HVACR training. Five Points Capital provided a unitranche debt facility to support the acquisition; StrataTech operates multiple campuses and serves roughly 3,200 students across its Tulsa Welding School and The Refrigeration School brands.

BARBRI, a portfolio company of Leeds Equity Partners, has acquired The Center for Legal Studies (CLS), a provider of paralegal and legal support training delivered via online and live courses in partnership with colleges and universities. The deal expands BARBRI's paralegal and legal support training offerings and broadens its online program management capabilities for university partners; financial terms were not disclosed.

LDC has made a significant growth investment in Texthelp, the Belfast-headquartered education technology specialist, to accelerate growth, expand into new markets and further develop its software and data analytics capabilities. The deal returns capital to prior investor Delta Partners and will support Texthelp's management team as it scales its SaaS products across education and corporate customers worldwide.

iEducation Group (formerly Fusion Education Group), a Leeds Equity Partners–backed operator of one-to-one private schools, has acquired Futures Academy, a California-based one-to-one secondary school operator. The combination expands iEducation's personalized learning platform and brings Futures' 16 California campuses into the iEducation portfolio; Futures had previously been backed by Crane Street Capital.

Atairos has acquired an ownership position in ProQuest, with ProQuest using proceeds to repurchase most shares held by entities affiliated with the Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division. Cambridge Information Group remains the majority owner and Goldman Sachs will retain a minority interest; the investment from Atairos is intended to support ProQuest's continued product innovation and global growth.

Serent Capital portfolio company Digital Architecture (DIGARC) acquired new|ed (now branded EXPLORE) and Visual Schedule Builder (VSB, now REGISTER) to expand its Connected Curriculum platform. The two add-ons extend DIGARC’s student recruitment, curriculum-exploration and schedule-planning capabilities for higher-education customers and support the company’s growth and client retention efforts.

O2B Kids, a Spire Capital portfolio company, has acquired Brookside Academy, adding two early-education centers in Alpharetta and Johns Creek, Georgia. The deal expands O2B Kids' presence into the Atlanta market and increases its facility count from twelve to fourteen, with planned capital investments for facility upgrades.

Gridiron Capital has acquired Colibri Group, a St. Louis–headquartered provider of online learning solutions for licensed professionals, from Quad-C Management. Terms were not disclosed; Gridiron said it will support Colibri’s growth across existing markets (healthcare, real estate, financial services) and expand into additional regulated professions.

Oxford International Education Group (OIEG), a Bowmark-backed private education provider, has acquired Oxford International College (OIC), an independent sixth-form college based in Oxford. The acquisition makes OIC the third Oxford-based school in OIEG’s portfolio and supports the group’s strategy to broaden offerings for domestic and international students and to pursue further UK and overseas expansion.