Acquisitions in the Education and Edtech Sectors in 2024
Acquisitions in the Education and EdTech Sector in 2024
The following is a summary of mergers and acquisitions transactions in the education and edtech sectors in 2024. We will update this post every two weeks as we close more deals and learn of other deals in the sector.
The education and edtech sectors have been off to a slow start in 2024. This is following a significant drop in valuations in 2022 and 2023 as edtech companies no longer benefited from the COVID boost in 2022, and many were no longer profitable in 2023.
For many in the industry, 2023 was a tumultuous year. Numerous deals were close to closing but fell apart during due diligence. Interest rates continued to rise, inducing anxiety around the cost of borrowing and requiring buyers to assume a higher overall return on investments, which depressed valuations. At the same time, investors had to rethink their investment criteria, which had shifted as a result of bad decisions they made during the frenzy of the COVID pandemic, and many taking a much more cautious and conservative approach after making investments at inflated valuations in 2020 and 21 that made sense during COVID, but now appear indefensible. Entire segments of the education sector were shaken up – from the increased regulation on for-profit Title IV colleges and regulations that effectively put OPM providers “on life support” to concerns about the implications surrounding the expiration of ESSER funds and the effect that will have on preK-12 education.
That said, valuations for small, medium, and large edtech companies are back to their pre-COVID levels and are still significantly higher than valuations for traditional businesses, with the average small and medium-sized edtech companies being valued at 2x to 3x trailing twelve-months revenue.
Acquisitions in the education and edtech sectors in 2024
Below is a summary of the mergers and acquisition transactions in the education and edtech sectors so far in 2024. This is by no means an exhaustive list as many smaller transactions are never announced. This list only represents the deals we have learned about through our network or that we have been directly involved in. I’ll do my best to update the list every two weeks.
In April, Basis Vectors Capital, a private equity firm focused on vertical SaaS, acquired Cadient Talent, a talent acquisition solutions provider in the hourly hiring sector , to expand their portfolio of SaaS solutions and to expand Cadient’s growth. The terms were not disclosed.
Follet School Solutions acquired MasterLibrary, a K-12 solutions provider. The amount was not disclosed.
Wonderschool acquired ChildcareMatters, a substitute teacher staffing platform. The amount was not disclosed.
LEORON Institute, a corporate training EdTech company, acquired UAE-based XpertLearning, the leading professional training and development provider in the Middle East, to expand their market expansion in the region.
GenSpark, a tech training and development solutions provider, acquired ProGrad, an Indian end-to-end sourcing, screening, and training solutions provider, to broaden their service offerings in the APAC and Indian markets.
Kangarootime, a childcare management software provider for early education centers, acquired Clay, an AI-powered lesson planner. The terms were not disclosed.
Keystone Partners, a career transition and outplacement services provider, acquired CEC, which offers certification and training for coaching careers. The amount wasn’t disclosed.
Viking Mergers & Acquisitions, a business brokerage firm, acquired Sea School, a maritime licensing and education provider.
CareerArc, a hiring and recruiting company, acquired Lumina, a leading SaaS platform for generating visual job postings at scale. The amount wasn’t disclosed.
Wakelet, a content curation platform, acquired Bulb, a digital portfolio provider used primarily by teachers and job applicants, for an undisclosed amount.
IXL Learning, creator of adaptive online learning systems, as well as the owner of Rosetta Stone, acquired Dictionary.com for an undisclosed amount.
Wonderschool, a startup that provides software and support to help individuals and local governments spin up childcare businesses, has acquired EarlyDay, which operates an early childhood educator marketplace. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
In March, the children’s publisher Scholastic acquired 9 Story Media, a children’s content producer and distributor, for a reported $186 million.
StraighterLine, an online course provider, acquired ProSolutions Training, an early childhood education training provider, for an undisclosed amount.
The online learning platform Skillshare completed its acquisition of Superpeer. The acquisition will expand Skillshare’s on-demand course offerings. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Accenture acquired Udacity, one of the pioneers of large-scale online courses. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it was announced at the same time Accenture announced a $1 billion investment to create a new learning platform focused on AI, called LearnVantage. Accenture reportedly paid only $80 million for Udacity, which back in 2012 had raised over $300 million in venture capital investments.
Leeds Equity Partners acquired TouchMath, a K-8 math curriculum provider.
Wayside Publishing, a U.S.-based language learning solutions provider, acquired Nualang, which develops tools for world language classrooms. The transaction details were not disclosed.
Kido International, an international daycare and preschool design, technology and learning company, acquired Amelio Early Education, a preschool and daycare operator. The amount was not disclosed, but is estimated to be north of $7.5 million.
Ellucian acquired EduNav, an academic planning and student success tool platform, for an undisclosed amount.
HMH acquired Writable, which provides a K-12 writing assessment and practice solution.
In February, Cognia, a forward thinking nonprofit organization laser-focused on improving educational opportunities for all learners, has agreed to purchase CenterPoint Education Solutions, a nonprofit organization that specializes in building cohesive education systems consisting of high-quality curriculum, aligned assessments, and expert professional learning.
Podium Education, a career accelerator platform that partners with colleges to offer for-credit learning experiences to help students gain in-demand skills and work experience as part of their degree, acquired Untapped, a career opportunities software company, for an undisclosed amount.
Savvas, a K-12 solutions company, acquired Outlier.org, which offers online dual credit courses. The amount was not disclosed.
The National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship acquired SkillPointe, a skill-based career platform, for an undisclosed amount.
Avenue Growth Partners acquired a minority stake in BridgeCare, an infrastructure platform for early childhood education, for $10 million.
Google acquired Edlyft, an AI tutoring platform, for an undisclosed amount.
In January, Oliver Solutions, a digital training platform, acquired Spiffy for an undisclosed amount.
Instructure Holdings, Inc. (Instructure) (NYSE: INST), the leading learning ecosystem and maker of Canvas, announced today it has completed the acquisition of Parchment, the world’s largest credential management platform and network.
Avathon Capital acquired Magical Beginnings, a network of early childhood learning centers in Massachusetts, for an undisclosed amount.
Google acquired Edlyft AI Tutor, an AI-powered STEM upskilling platform that seeks to make computer science education more accessible, especially for Black students.
Quantum5, an automotive training platform acquired Trivie, an AI-powered provider of a workforce engagement platform that personalizes learning content.
Avathon Capital, a private equity firm, acquired Magical Beginnings Learning Centers, a Massachusetts-based network of early childhood education centers.
ETS, the language testing company that runs TOEFL, acquired PSI, a U.S.-based language testing company. The amount was not disclosed.
Follet School Solutions, a K-12 edtech company, acquired Livingtree, a platform for fundraising management, for an undisclosed amount.
PowerSchool acquired Allovue, a K-12 financial planning, budgeting and analytics software provider, for an undisclosed amount.
Intelvio, a healthcare education company backed by Eden Capital, acquired Classward, an online provider of continuing education for aspiring and current EMS professionals. Classward’s EMS content complements Intelvio’s growing platform focused on solving healthcare employee shortages across the US.
Upgrad Education announced that it is in negotiations to acquire Udacity. It also stated that it intends to raise $100 million, a large part of which will be used to finance the purchase, according to media reports.
We will update this post every two weeks as we learn about other transactions and close more deals in the education sector.
Read our previous article for information about mergers and acquisitions deals in the education sector in 2003 or our previous article about mergers and acquisitions deals in the education and edtech sectors that closed in 2002.
About the Author and Jackim Woods & Co.
Rich Jackim is an education industry investment banker, educational industry entrepreneur, and former mergers and acquisitions attorney.
For the last 25 years, Rich has been providing boutique investment banking services to middle-market companies in the education sector.
Rich also founded a successful training and certification company called the Exit Planning Institute, which he sold to a private equity group in 2012.
Rich is also the author of the critically acclaimed book, The $10 Trillion Dollar Opportunity: Designing Successful Exit Strategies for Middle Market Businesses.
Jackim Woods & Co offers skilled mergers and acquisitions advisory services to privately owned schools, colleges, and EdTech companies in both sell-side and buy-side transactions. Jackim Woods & Co has arranged over 100 successful transactions, ranging from less than one million to more than eighty million dollars in value.
If you own an education-related business and are interested in exploring your options, I would welcome an opportunity to speak with you. Feel free to contact me at 224-513-5142 or rjackim@jackimwoods.com.
