Education Acquisitions in Ohio

Savi, a Washington-based student loan and education benefits platform, has acquired Fiducius, an employer-focused education benefits provider. The deal — Savi's first acquisition — expands Savi's nationwide employer and channel partner footprint and adds Fiducius' customer support and student-loan servicing capabilities; financial terms were not disclosed.

Pryor Learning, a Trive Capital- and Epic Partners-backed training and learning platform, has acquired PeopleKeys, a provider of DISC behavioral assessments, analytics, certifications, and consulting services. The acquisition expands Pryor's assessment and benchmarking capabilities to enhance hiring, upskilling, and organizational development offerings and broaden its distribution reach.

OCLC has acquired JJH Consulting, a Workday advisory and ERP implementation specialist that serves higher education institutions. The acquisition expands OCLC's services to offer advisory, project management, implementation and optimization support for Workday and other ERP systems to colleges and universities.

Raptor Technologies has acquired PublicSchoolWORKS, a provider of K-12 school safety training and compliance management software. The deal expands Raptor's school safety suite by adding PSW's online training, content development, advisory services and compliance management capabilities to better serve K-12 schools and districts.

SchoolStatus, a K-12 student-success platform, has acquired SchoolNow, a Cincinnati-based unified digital publishing platform for K-12 schools. The acquisition will integrate SchoolNow's ADA-compliant websites, mobile apps and multi-channel communications into SchoolStatus' platform to expand its family-engagement and communications capabilities.

Five Arrows, the alternative assets arm of Rothschild & Co, has acquired a majority stake in n2y, a Huron, Ohio–based provider of SaaS solutions for special education. Providence Equity Partners will remain a minority investor; The Riverside Company sold its investment as part of the transaction. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Legal Heat, a leading concealed firearms training firm, was acquired by Tommy Sapp, president & CEO of Focused Fire Training. The transaction combines Focused Fire Training and Legal Heat to create a nationwide firearms training group and expand both online and local training capabilities.

The American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) has acquired NDT Classroom, an online provider of video-based nondestructive testing (NDT) training founded in 2012. The acquisition expands ASNT's online education and professional development offerings for NDT practitioners and integrates NDT Classroom's curated course library into ASNT's training portfolio.

Axcel, the Alpine Investors-backed professional education platform, has partnered with and acquired EduMind (parent of School of PE). Terms were not disclosed; Axcel said it will invest in technology, personnel and course development while Christopher Lam becomes EduMind CEO and founders Vinod and Radhika Dega transition from day-to-day roles.

The Gardner School, a Franklin, Tennessee-based preschool operator majority-owned by Quad Partners, has acquired The Compass School, a Cincinnati-based childcare provider with seven locations in Illinois, Virginia, and Ohio. The acquisition expands The Gardner School's footprint in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic and brings the seven Compass School locations into its academically focused early-childhood network.

3STEP Sports, a national youth sports club and event operator, has acquired Cincinnati-based Tri-State Elite Volleyball Club to expand its volleyball division. Tri-State Elite, founded in 2013 and led by co-directors Kelly Crowley, Matt Long and Kevin Lucas, will join 3STEP's national network of clubs and events.

3STEP Sports has acquired The Academy Volleyball Club Cleveland (AVC), adding the nationally-recognized Cleveland club to its volleyball division. Founded in 2006 and operating an elite 50-team program, AVC will join 3STEP’s nationwide portfolio as the operator seeks to expand its volleyball footprint and development capabilities.

Simplify Compliance, a portfolio company of Leeds Equity Partners, has acquired Human Capital Institute (HCI), a Cincinnati-based provider of HR and talent management leadership education. HCI will join Simplify Compliance under its Business & Learning Resources (BLR) brand to expand the firm's capabilities in the human capital management market; terms were not disclosed.

MindPlay Education, a New Harbor Capital portfolio company, has acquired CF Educational Solutions to combine CF’s student-success consulting, district relationships, and sales capabilities with MindPlay’s education technology and IP. The add-on acquisition is intended to internalize a dedicated sales team, expand service offerings, and deepen MindPlay’s reach across K‑12 districts nationwide.

Echo360 merged with Turning to create an expanded SaaS-based video learning and engagement platform, supported by new capital from private equity firm Centre Lane Partners. The combined company will operate under the Echo360 brand and aims to broaden capabilities and market reach across higher education, K‑12, corporate, and government training markets.

Finalsite, a portfolio company of Bridge Growth Partners, has acquired SchoolPointe, a K-12 public school website and mobile app provider headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The add-on expands Finalsite’s footprint in the K-12 public school digital communications market, adding more than 500 district clients and complementary website and mobile app capabilities.

EAB, a Washington, D.C.-based education services company, has acquired Wisr, a Cleveland-based student engagement technology provider. The acquisition adds Wisr's peer-to-peer community and engagement platform to EAB's enrollment services portfolio to strengthen student recruitment and onboarding capabilities for partner institutions.

Watermark, a higher education insights software provider based in Austin, Texas, has acquired Aviso Retention, an AI-powered student success solution headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The acquisition adds predictive analytics and student retention capabilities to Watermark's platform to better serve colleges and universities and improve student outcomes.

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.

An entity affiliated with Centre Lane Partners has acquired Turning Technologies from Brockway Moran & Partners. Turning Technologies, an education technology company headquartered in Youngstown, Ohio, provides audience response and engagement software to K-12, higher education, corporate and government customers; Centre Lane said it will provide financial resources and technical expertise to accelerate the company's platform development while management remains in Youngstown.