Education Acquisitions in Indiana

CIC Partners has realized its investment in American College of Education (ACE) and sold the company to Bain Capital Double Impact, with the transaction completing in Q4 2025. ACE is an accredited online private college headquartered in Indianapolis that serves adult and professional learners across education, healthcare and business programs; financial terms were not disclosed.

Summit Professional Education has acquired the National Federation of Professional Trainers (NFPT), combining Summit’s tech-enabled continuing-education platform with NFPT’s NCCA‑accredited personal trainer certification programs. The deal will integrate NFPT’s certification offerings into Summit’s portfolio to deliver expanded specializations, mentorships, and career pathways across fitness and adjacent clinical care markets.

Five Star Technology Solutions has completed a merger with Empower Learning to combine their K-12 education technology, AV, managed services, and professional development offerings. The combined company will expand its geographic reach across the Midwest and deliver integrated EdTech solutions to schools and districts, strengthening capabilities in AV, managed services, data analytics, and cybersecurity.

Strata Information Group (SIG), a portfolio company of Fort Point Capital, has acquired RHB, Inc., a higher education consulting firm specializing in Slate CRM technical services, enrollment management, institutional marketing, and executive counsel. The acquisition strengthens SIG's Slate practice, adds a Slate 24/7 helpdesk capability, and expands its service offerings to higher education institutions.

Emler Swim School has acquired the Fort Wayne, Indiana location of Nitro Swim School, marking Emler’s 42nd swim school. Nitro Swim School owner Mike Koleber sold the Fort Wayne facility while retaining Nitro’s Texas locations in Cedar Park and Bee Cave; Emler said the acquisition supports its expansion into the Fort Wayne market.

Early Bird Education Group has acquired Brookshire Learning Center, a West Lafayette, Indiana early childhood education provider with multiple facilities across the state. The acquisition expands Early Bird’s footprint (now operating 14 locations across Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana) and provides the platform with an entry into the Lafayette market.

Emler Swim School acquired Stony Creek Swim Center, a single-location swim school in Noblesville, Indiana, with the deal closing on November 17, 2022. The acquisition expands Emler’s footprint into its eighth state and grows its network of locations to 42, while Stony Creek will continue operating under its current name with existing staff and enrollment plans.

The Riverside Company has invested in Motivating Systems LLC (creator of PBIS Rewards) as an add-on to its portfolio company Navigate360, expanding Navigate360’s K–12 student wellness and behavioral management capabilities. Motivating Systems’ PBIS Rewards SaaS will be integrated into Navigate360’s suite to give districts data-driven tools for whole-child safety and early intervention; PBIS Rewards CEO Pat Heck will continue with Navigate360 as CTO.

Follett Higher Education has acquired Indianapolis-based edtech platform Willo Labs to integrate its single-connection LMS technology into Follett's ACCESS and campus retail offerings. The deal aims to expand digital course-material access, improve privacy and security for institutions, and broaden Follett's digital services for millions of students.

3STEP Sports has acquired Munciana Volleyball Club, the long-running Indiana-based junior volleyball program, to serve as a cornerstone of its expanding volleyball division. The deal brings Munciana's facility, elite coaching pedigree, large camp program and tournament footprint into 3STEP's national youth-sports platform.

3STEP Sports has acquired The Academy Volleyball Club, a large youth volleyball organization based in Indianapolis. The acquisition is an add-on to 3STEP’s growing volleyball division and expands its footprint and event/program capabilities in youth volleyball.

Education Advanced, Inc. (a Serent Capital portfolio company) has acquired Indiana-based Standard for Success, an education evaluation and feedback software provider. The deal expands EAI’s K-12 product suite—adding teacher evaluation, educator growth, graduation tracking and related subscription software—and increases combined reach to over 5 million students in more than 10,000 schools.

Securly, a Golden Gate Capital‑backed K‑12 student safety and wellness platform, has acquired Dyknow, an Indianapolis‑based provider of classroom management and device impact measurement software. The deal combines Dyknow’s classroom management and device-usage analytics with Securly’s student safety, wellness and engagement offerings to expand capabilities and analytics for K‑12 customers.

BERKS Group, a family-owned diversified holding company, has acquired 180 Skills, an Indianapolis-based provider of online manufacturing skills training. The acquisition expands BERKS' education technology platform—joining 180 Skills with existing assets such as Valor Manufacturing Training—to broaden its online training offerings for manufacturers, educators and workforce organizations.

Course Hero has acquired CliffsNotes, the long-running study guide publisher, and QuillBot, an AI-powered writing platform. The deals expand Course Hero's portfolio of educational content and AI writing tools to better support students and educators across K-12 and higher education.

SchoolMint, a PE-backed provider of Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) software, has acquired Indianapolis-based Bright Minds Marketing to expand its marketing and enrollment consulting capabilities for PreK-12 schools in the U.S. The acquisition integrates Bright Minds' personalized marketing and enrollment services into SchoolMint's SaaS platform to help schools attract, enroll, and retain students and staff.

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.

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.