Education Acquisitions in Canada

Vertu Capital has made a strategic growth investment in LumiQ Inc., a Toronto-based corporate education platform that delivers accredited professional development content to accounting and finance professionals. The investment is intended to support LumiQ's domestic and international expansion and accelerate product and customer growth.

We Know Training, a technology-enabled learning solutions provider based in Edmonton, Alberta, has acquired Fleet Safety International (FSI), a Calgary-based driver safety training company. The acquisition, which closed June 10, 2024, expands We Know Training's educational offerings into driver safety and will integrate FSI's online and in-vehicle training capabilities under the We Know Training platform over time.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) has acquired Quebec-based education technology company Classcraft to add product capabilities and engineering talent aimed at improving student engagement and the customer experience. HMH — a portfolio company of Veritas Capital — will honor existing Classcraft contracts while integrating the team and technology into its K–12 learning solutions.

Calgary-based headversity has acquired Respect Group Incorporated, a Canadian provider of online certification courses to prevent bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination (BAHD). The deal combines headversity's preventative mental-health training platform (PRE.A.P.) with Respect's certification training to expand the buyer's capability set and broaden its corporate, sports and education customer base.

Training The Street (TTS), a PE-backed provider of financial training, acquired The Marquee Group, a Canadian financial modeling and data-science training firm. The add-on, financed by TTS sponsor Falfurrias Capital Partners, expands TTS's course offerings (Python, Tableau, Power BI, VBA) and broadens its global teaching footprint while retaining The Marquee Group's brand and instructors.

Valsoft Corporation Inc., a Montreal-based acquirer and operator of vertical-market software businesses, has acquired Kivuto Solutions Inc., a North American provider of digital educational content distribution and software management solutions. Kivuto will join Valsoft’s education portfolio (managed by Aspire), with Valsoft citing strong customer relationships and complementary products to drive further growth; Kivuto was represented by a court-appointed receiver in the transaction.

Clearspring Capital Partners and OneLink Capital (with financial participation from BDC Growth Equity Partners) announced a minority growth investment in Groupe Tecnic and École de Conduite Tecnic Rive-Nord. The founding Sévigny and Aubé families remain significant shareholders with management continuity (CEO Mylène Sévigny to remain); the capital will support Tecnic's growth plan and potential expansion beyond Quebec.

LRN Corporation acquired the Compliance Learning business unit from Thomson Reuters, expanding LRN’s global ethics and compliance learning capabilities and client base. The deal enhances LRN’s presence across Europe and Asia and strengthens its offerings for the financial services vertical, after a strategic investment in LRN by Leeds Equity Partners.

CeriFi, a Leeds Equity Partners portfolio company, has acquired MarkMeldrum.com, a provider of CFA exam preparation materials including lecture videos, question banks and mock exams. The acquisition expands CeriFi's portfolio of financial education and certification solutions and represents an add-on to its existing offerings; terms were not disclosed.

Savvas Learning Company has acquired Rubicon Publishing, the developer of MathUP and a leading Canadian K-12 digital and supplemental publisher. The acquisition brings Rubicon’s all-digital math program and large K-12 catalog into Savvas’s portfolio to expand its offerings and presence in the Canadian market.

University Headquarters (UHQ) has acquired Discover Accounting to expand its educational content offerings focused on accounting and CPA-related guidance. UHQ plans to integrate Discover Accounting's content into its broader higher-education resources to better serve current and prospective accounting students.

Vancouver-based agencies Junction Consulting and Jelly Digital Marketing have jointly acquired ELearningU, North America's largest online tourism marketing education platform. The purchase — the first major acquisition for both agencies — aims to expand digital marketing training capabilities and make tourism-focused education more accessible to industry professionals.

legio X, a search fund led by Vanessa Iarocci, has acquired Brain Power Enrichment Programs Ltd., a Vaughan, Ontario–based after-school enrichment provider, with growth equity provided by Sage Capital Partners Inc. Financial terms were not disclosed; Iarocci will become CEO and co-owner and will work with founder Dr. Karine Rashkovsky to expand Brain Power’s proprietary programs beyond the Greater Toronto Area across North America.

Pluribus Technologies Corp. (TSXV: PLRB) has completed the acquisition of all issued and outstanding common shares of Kesson Group Inc. and Kesson Group Holdings Limited. The Kesson Group operates Teach Away, Klassroom and Skooli — platforms for teacher recruitment, licensure/professional development and online K–12 tutoring — which expand Pluribus's portfolio into education technology and online learning services.

Permission Click, a K-12 platform for managing school policy compliance, parent permissions, payments and online forms, has joined the SchoolMessenger product family. The deal brings Permission Click’s forms, workflows and payments capabilities into SchoolMessenger (part of PowerSchool), expanding SchoolMessenger’s K-12 product portfolio and accelerating digital transformation for schools across North America.

Symplicity Corporation, an H.I.G. Capital portfolio company, has acquired Orbis Communications, a Hamilton, Ontario–based experiential learning and outcomes platform for post-secondary institutions. The acquisition expands Symplicity’s presence and market share in Canada and broadens its experiential learning and early-talent employer network for higher-education customers.

Pluribus Technologies Inc. has completed the acquisition of Pathways Training & eLearning Inc., a Toronto-based learning and development agency specializing in eLearning, virtual reality-enabled 360° video, and gamified mobile learning. The deal expands Pluribus's capabilities in the eLearning vertical and adds a Fortune 500 client base and advanced learning-technology offerings to its portfolio.

Updata Partners VI led a growth investment into Toronto-based Altus Assessments to fund Altus’s acquisition of One45, a MedEd management and analytics software provider. The deal combines Altus’s research-backed admissions and assessment products with One45’s operations, data warehouse and analytics capabilities to expand Altus’s higher-education and medical education offerings and accelerate product and go-to-market growth.

PSG, a growth equity firm, has made a growth investment in DigitalEd to support product innovation, user experience improvements and go-to-market acceleration for DigitalEd’s Möbius STEM-focused digital learning platform. Financial terms were not disclosed; PSG is DigitalEd’s sole outside investor and will partner with the founding team to scale the business globally.

Pluribus Technologies Inc. (Toronto) has completed the acquisition of ICOM Productions Inc., a Calgary-based developer of custom eLearning, VR and digital learning solutions. The deal expands Pluribus's eLearning capabilities—adding in-house content creation and immersive learning (VR/AR) to its platform as part of its ongoing roll-up strategy.

Pluribus Technologies Inc. completed the acquisition of the assets of Claymore Inc. and SkilSure Limited, expanding its eLearning portfolio and executing a roll-up strategy in the regulated healthcare and apprenticeship training markets. The deal brings Claymore's SkilSure competency management and QuizBase assessment tools into Pluribus's Learning Network, and provides geographic expansion into the United Kingdom and deeper penetration of Canadian regulated healthcare professional associations.

Penn Foster has acquired Sokanu, the creator of the CareerExplorer career-discovery platform used by more than 10 million people annually. The deal (terms not disclosed) will combine Sokanu's labor-market intelligence, assessments and machine‑learning tools with Penn Foster's workforce-focused education and training offerings to better guide and upskill middle‑skill workers.

Kalkomey Enterprises has acquired Campfire Collective, a Peterborough, Ontario-based provider of government-accredited online safety education for outdoor pursuits. The deal brings Campfire’s BOATsmart!, HUNTINGsmart!, ATVsmart!, PADDLERsmart! and SLEDsmart! brands into the Kalkomey portfolio to broaden education offerings and expand state agency services.

KEV Group, a Serent Capital-backed provider of the SchoolCash platform, has acquired Lunchbox Orders, an online ordering and fundraising platform for K-12 school lunch programs. The add-on expands KEV Group's capabilities into lunch management and fundraising, enabling broader service to schools across Ontario and beyond.

Birch Hill Equity Partners, a Toronto-based private equity firm, made an investment in Yorkville Education Company (the parent of Yorkville University and Toronto Film School). Origin Merchant Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Yorkville on the transaction, which provides growth capital to support expansion of Yorkville's post‑secondary and vocational education offerings across Canada.

TPC Training has acquired Simutech Multimedia, a developer of simulation-based training software for maintenance and operations professionals. The acquisition adds immersive, gamified simulation learning to TPC's digital and instructor-led workforce training and compliance platform, expanding its capabilities for manufacturing and technical workforce development.

IntelliMedia Networks Inc. acquired GlobalMLX, a Canadian supply-chain security training and certification consultant, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will integrate GlobalMLX's CTPAT training content into IntelliMedia's cloud-based Apollo LTMS (offered under the ASCT Systems brand) to scale and deliver on-demand CTPAT training and certification services to exporters and logistics companies.