Education Acquisitions in Arizona

Traverse Pointe Partners’ portfolio company Small Miracles has acquired Children’s Campus and Premier Children’s Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The add-on deal expands Small Miracles’ Arizona footprint (now 18 centers with enrollment capacity of over 2,400) and financial terms were not disclosed.

Infinedi Partners' portfolio company CEA CAPA Education Abroad has acquired St. Mary's Institute for Educational Excellence (dba Atlantis). The acquisition adds Atlantis' experiential pre-health, pre-law and pre-consulting study-abroad and shadowing programs (serving ~2,500 students annually) to CEA CAPA's global study-abroad platform, expanding program capabilities for its university partners.

Traverse Pointe Partners portfolio company Small Miracles has acquired Three Points Childcare Center in Tucson, Arizona. The add-on expands Small Miracles' multi-location early-learning platform in Arizona as part of a buy-and-build growth strategy; financial terms were not disclosed.

Instructure Holdings, Inc. has acquired Parchment (PCS Holdings, LLC), the largest academic credential management platform and network, for approximately $835 million in an all-cash transaction. The deal adds Parchment’s credentialing, transcript exchange and verification capabilities to Instructure’s Canvas learning platform, expanding its addressable market and providing cross-selling opportunities across K-12, higher education and employer verification channels.

Point Quest, LLC has acquired Foundations Speech and Language Therapy LLC, an Arizona-based provider of school-based special education and speech/language services. The acquisition expands Point Quest's presence in Arizona and aims to leverage Point Quest's recruiting, training, and operational capabilities to support district partners and grow services.

Scottsdale-based Cadence Education, one of North America’s largest early childhood education operators, has acquired Little Big Minds Spanish Immersion Preschools, a four-school Spanish-immersion preschool network in the greater Phoenix area. The deal expands Cadence’s presence in Arizona and adds bilingual immersion capability to its growing portfolio of private preschools.

MidOcean Partners has acquired Pragmatic Institute, a Scottsdale, Arizona–based professional training company focused on product management, data and digital design, from Renovus Capital Partners, Petra Capital Partners and other investors. Pragmatic—founded in 1993 and having trained more than 200,000 professionals globally—will pursue further growth under MidOcean through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions; financial terms were not disclosed.

Small Miracles, the Traverse Pointe Partners-backed early-learning platform, has acquired two Quality Interactive Montessori Schools (QI Montessori) centers in Arizona. The add-on expands Small Miracles to 15 centers across Tucson and Phoenix and increases the platform's footprint in early childhood and lower/upper elementary Montessori education; financial terms were not disclosed.

INE, the technical training provider, has acquired CloudSkills.io, the cloud training business founded by Mike Pfeiffer, to expand its cloud content, labs, and career-path offerings. The deal brings CloudSkills.io's real-world cloud course content and expertise into INE's hands-on training platform to accelerate cloud skill development for students and enterprise learners.

New Harbor Capital has completed a majority equity investment in MindPlay Education, a Tucson-based education software company that provides K–12 literacy instruction and professional development for educators. New Harbor cited MindPlay’s product efficacy, strong financial performance, and growth potential and will support scaling the company’s offerings to reach more students and schools nationwide.

Small Miracles, a portfolio company of Chicago-based private equity firm Traverse Pointe Partners, has acquired Desert Shadows Montessori, an early education center in the Phoenix area. The add-on expands Small Miracles' footprint in Arizona; financial terms were not disclosed.

TrueLearn, a healthcare education platform, has acquired Picmonic, an audiovisual learning platform that uses animated picture mnemonics to improve memory retention. The acquisition expands TrueLearn's digital learning capabilities and deepens its presence across medical, nursing and allied health education by integrating Picmonic's mnemonic videos and assessment tools into its analytics-driven platform.

Onex Partners V (the Onex Group) completed a significant investment in Weld North Education on March 1, 2021, partnering with the company's management team and existing investor Silver Lake. Onex Corporation’s share of the transaction was approximately $275 million; Weld North Education is a leading U.S. K‑12 digital curriculum and edtech provider.

Tailwind Capital has acquired the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) from the BERKS Group. The deal will enable Tailwind to invest in ISSA's next-generation technology platform, proprietary content, and strategic acquisitions to expand its eLearning leadership in the fitness and wellness industry.

Verge Learning Inc., a San Jose-based marketplace for special education tools and teletherapy, has acquired XceptionalED, a professional development platform offering online courses and conferences for disability-focused professionals, educators, advocates, and parents. The deal expands Verge Learning's marketplace and brings the combined user base to over 30,000 therapists, educators, parents, and advocates across more than a dozen countries.

Small Miracles, a Traverse Pointe Partners portfolio company, has acquired Imagination Childcare, a nationally accredited early education center in the Phoenix, Arizona area. Financial terms were not disclosed; the add-on expands Small Miracles' footprint in Phoenix as the operator continues to scale its multi-center early education platform (Small Miracles operates 12 centers and serves over 1,000 students).

Eckerd Connects has merged with Odle Management Group, LLC to expand its workforce development and youth services capabilities. The merger brings Odle’s outreach, enrollment and placement expertise (headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona) into Eckerd’s national operations, increasing Eckerd Connects' scale across nearly 20 states.

Infinedi Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, completed an investment in Cultural Experiences Abroad, LLC (CEA), a Phoenix-headquartered provider of study abroad and internship programs for U.S. university students. The partnership gives CEA additional capital and board support to strengthen health & safety resources and provide financial stability as international education recovers from COVID-19 disruption.

Small Miracles, a portfolio company of Traverse Pointe Partners, has acquired Outer Limits, a Five‑Star, nationally accredited early education center in Tucson, Arizona. Financial terms were not disclosed; the acquisition is an add‑on to broaden Small Miracles' footprint in Arizona and scale its operations across the region.

Funds advised by Apax Partners have agreed to acquire Cadence Education, a US-based operator of more than 225 private preschools across 40+ brands, from funds managed by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners for an undisclosed sum. Apax said it will support Cadence's management team to continue growth through strategic acquisitions and expansion of operational capabilities; the transaction was expected to close in March 2020.

Brentwood Associates has acquired Parchment Inc., a digital credential management platform, and will merge it with Credentials Solutions (a Brentwood portfolio company) under the Parchment brand. The combined organization will serve an integrated network of over 13,000 schools, universities and professional organizations and focus on modernizing exchange of verifiable academic and professional credentials.

Weld North Education, in partnership with Silver Lake, has acquired LearnZillion, a provider of K–12 digital-first core curriculum. LearnZillion will join Edgenuity within Weld North Education to expand the company’s digital core curriculum offerings and provide teachers with customizable, data-driven instructional tools; LearnZillion CEO Eric Westendorf and his team will remain with the business.

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.

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.

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.

NPG/BERKS Group announced the acquisition of the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA), a leading provider of online fitness education and certification. ISSA offers multiple fitness certifications and has certified over 200,000 trainers globally; the deal was announced in March 2019 with BERKS highlighting ISSA's technology-driven distance education capabilities.

Catapult Learning has acquired Desert Heights Academy (DHA), a Phoenix-area special education provider that enrolls more than 250 students. DHA will join Catapult Learning’s Schools Group as the organization expands its special education footprint in Arizona.