STAMFORD, Conn., July 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With global investors racing to deploy billions of dollars across the edtech ecosystem, Tyton Partners continues to be a trusted advisor to many of the pre-eminent investors, executives, and entrepreneurs navigating a dynamic capital markets environment that is outpacing previous fundraising records. During the first half of the year, the Tyton Partners Investment Banking team successfully completed ten transactions across the pre-K-12, higher education, and corporate training landscape.
With strong corporate balance sheets, a low interest rate environment, and a record amount of capital raised and deployed by private equity, venture capital firms, family offices, and social impact investors, investors continue to aggressively pursue high growth education and global knowledge companies that will make a lasting impact in areas such as future of work, lower cost alternative higher education models, and digital platforms that improve learning outcomes in the K-12 and post-secondary market segments.
“A number of socio-economic and technological factors have cemented a compelling multi-year trajectory for strong edtech deal volume and valuations," said Chris Curran, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Tyton Partners. "These include dramatic subsidies by the U.S. government, exploding demand for education and training systems in emerging markets, the continued development of artificial intelligence and machine learning functionality, the emergence of high quality-lower cost curricular solutions, and the continuing race to migrate all learning content to digital solutions in the service of best-in-class student outcomes.”
Vivek Kamath, Partner at Tyton Partners, added: “One of the impacts of the pandemic is that it drove startups in the education space to scale at a pace the market hasn’t previously seen. This played a significant role in generating the record-setting business growth trajectories and commensurate valuations we witnessed through the first six months of the year. We expect our clients to benefit from this trend into the foreseeable future.”
Disclosed and announced transactions are summarized below:
Transformational SaaS and Technology Transactions
Othot’s Sale to Liaison International, a Portfolio Company of Meritage Group LP
Othot is the leader in artificial intelligence and prescriptive analytics solutions for higher education institutions across the United States. Liaison International helps higher education institutions identify, recruit, and enroll students with admissions management and marketing automation software and services. Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Othot.
LitCharts’ Sale to Course Hero
LitCharts is the world's best literary resource, with hundreds of literature guides, literary terms, and modern English translations of every Shakespeare play. Course Hero is an online learning platform offering more than 60 million course-specific study resources created by and for students and used by more than 65,000 faculty across the U.S. and Canada. Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to LitCharts.
eScholar’s Sale to Harris Computer Corporation, a Division of Constellation Software
eScholar is a software company that provides software and services used by educators for student record management and career planning. Harris Computer Corporation provides software solutions for the Public Sector, Healthcare, Utilities, and Private Sector verticals throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to eScholar.
ProctorExam’s Sale to Turnitin, a Portfolio Company of Advance Publications
ProctorExam is the largest online proctoring company in Europe and the global leader in providing SaaS proctoring technology. Turnitin is a leading provider of academic integrity and assessment solutions used by educational institutions and certification and licensing programs to uphold integrity and increase learning performance, and by students and professionals to do their best, original work. Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to ProctorExam.
Helix Education’s Sale to Ruffalo Noel Levitz, a Portfolio Company of Summit Partners
Helix Education provides colleges and universities a comprehensive suite of technology and services to power data-driven enrollment growth. Ruffalo Noel Levitz is the leading provider of higher education enrollment, student success, and fundraising solutions. Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Helix Education.
ArtistWorks' Sale to TrueFire Studios, a Portfolio Company of Growth Catalyst Partners
ArtistWorks is an online music learning education platform which uses a proprietary patented system for interacting with teachers based upon online Video Exchange Learning. TrueFire Studios is an alliance of the world’s leading online music education companies that provides affordable, anytime, anywhere access to best-in-class artists and the most comprehensive music lesson library on the planet. Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to ArtistWorks.
Schoolrunner’s Sale to SchoolMint, a Portfolio Company of BV Investment Partners
Schoolrunner is the leading provider of Strategic Enrollment Management in K-12 education. It features a unique combination of data analytics, advanced features, and educator-first design. SchoolMint, Inc. is the leading K-12 provider of solutions for Strategic Enrollment Management serving more than 11 million students and families in more than 16,000 schools across the country. Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Schoolrunner.
Tech Enabled Services Transactions
Mentoring Minds’ Sale to Curriculum Associates, a Portfolio Company of Berkshire Partners and Permira
Mentoring Minds helps K-12 administrators & teachers raise students' scores with standards-aligned resources & teaching strategies. Curriculum Associates produces data-driven, research-backed cloud technology products that transform how students learn. Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Mentoring Minds.
Galileo Learning’s Recapitalization by Avathon Capital
Galileo Learning offers award-winning, STEAM-oriented summer enrichment programs at local neighborhood schools. Avathon Capital is a leading investor committed to fostering innovation and impact across the education and workforce management markets. Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Galileo Learning.
Steve & Kate’s Camp’s Sale to Bright Horizons
Steve and Kate’s Camp is an innovative summer camp program dedicated to putting kids in charge of making their own choices, so that they can develop the confidence to reach their creative potential. Bright Horizons is one of the leading providers of childcare, elder care, and help for education and careers in the world. Tyton Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Steve & Kate’s Camp.
About Tyton Partners
Tyton Partners is the leading provider of investment banking and strategy consulting services to the global knowledge and information services sector. With offices in Boston and Stamford, CT, the firm has an experienced team of bankers and consultants who deliver a unique spectrum of services from mergers and acquisitions and capital markets access to strategy development that helps companies, organizations, and investors navigate the complexities of the education, media, and information markets. Tyton Partners leverages a deep foundation of transactional and advisory experience and unparalleled level of global relationships to make its clients’ aspirations a reality and to catalyze innovation in the sector.
For more information, visit Tyton Partners or follow us @tytonpartners.
Media contact: Matt Weaver
Tyton Partners