Education Acquisitions in Tennessee

Avathon Capital has acquired Summit Professional Education from Greybull Stewardship. Summit is a provider of in-person and online continuing professional education (CPE) for physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists; Avathon plans to accelerate the company’s go-to-market, expand its content library, and pursue add-on acquisitions.

Millpond Equity Partners, with financing from an affiliate of Hamilton Lane Impact Investments, made a growth investment in Galileo Education, a Franklin, Tennessee-based provider of personalized K–12 and special-needs schooling. Proceeds will be used to expand Galileo’s portfolio of local school brands across Tennessee, North Carolina, and Florida and to fund future acquisitions to build the platform.

Level Data, a K–12 data validation software provider based in Kalamazoo, Michigan, has acquired RANDA Solutions, an enterprise data and workflow management company for State Education Agencies headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee. The deal expands Level Data's capabilities in licensure, educator effectiveness, and state-level workflows and strengthens its position as a provider of trusted data solutions for K–12 districts and state agencies.

Corridor Capital has made an investment in Integrity Solutions, LLC, a Nashville-based sales and sales leadership training firm, to support the company’s growth and development of new services. Management, led by CEO Mike Esterday, will remain in place and continue as a material owner while Corridor provides strategic, operational and financial support, with Live Oak Bank providing debt financing.

Progress Learning, LLC has acquired Horizon Education, LLC to expand its K–12 suite with postsecondary readiness and SAT/ACT test-prep programs. The add-on strengthens Progress Learning’s high-school offering and broadens its standards-aligned content across all grade levels; Progress Learning is backed by Serent Capital.

The Vistria Group has acquired a majority stake in Education Solutions Services (ESS), a Knoxville-based K-12 staffing and virtual instruction provider; Nautic Partners sold the majority interest but will remain a minority investor. Comvest Credit Partners acted as administrative agent on a senior secured credit facility to support the transaction. ESS serves roughly 900 school districts (over 4 million students) and will use the new partnership to accelerate growth and expand its virtual and managed staffing capabilities.

Nautic Partners has formed HES Facilities LLC, a Knoxville-based education-focused facilities services platform, in partnership with management led by Buddy Helton and Charlie Spencer. In conjunction with the formation, HES acquired SMS, LLC (a regional facility services provider founded in 2007) and intends to grow the platform organically and via add-on acquisitions to serve K-12 and higher education customers nationally.