M&A Deal Summary

Penn Foster Acquires Ashworth College

On February 6, 2019, Penn Foster acquired education company Ashworth College from Sterling Partners Private Equity

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Penn Foster’s 1st transaction in the Education sector.
  • This is Penn Foster’s 2nd transaction in the United States.
  • This is Penn Foster’s 1st transaction in Georgia.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2019-02-06
Target Ashworth College
Sector Education
Buyer(s) Penn Foster
Sellers(s) Sterling Partners Private Equity
Deal Type Add-on Acquisition

Target

Ashworth College

Norcross, Georgia, United States
website
Ashworth College is a nationally accredited online institution that provides flexible and affordable education to students located around the world. Areas of study include more than 145 career-focused programs in the high-demand fields of healthcare, technology, business, creative services, education, legal studies, and trades. In a 2017 survey done for DEAC, 95 percent of students and graduates of the school's 20 most popular programs said they were satisfied with their studies and would recommend Ashworth College to a friend.

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Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

Penn Foster

Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States

website

Category Company
Founded 1890
Sector Education
DESCRIPTION

Penn Foster is a leading provider of high school diploma, workforce education, and training solutions. The business focuses on adult learners who seek forms of higher education to improve their career skills and employment status. Penn Foster was founded in 1890 and is based in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 2 of 4
Sector (Education) 1 of 1
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 1 of 3
State (Georgia) 1 of 1
Country (United States) 2 of 3
Year (2019) 1 of 1
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2015-12-02 UniversityNow - Learning Platform

United States

UniversityNow - Learning Platform is a provider of education learning platform services.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2021-03-19 Sokanu

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Sokanu is an internet career advancement platform with its online career discovery and advancement tools put cutting-edge technologies and data science to work to help people navigate the rapidly changing world of work. The CareerExplorer assessment blends psychometrics and machine learning to help millions of people learn how their personal traits, talents, interests, and values align with nearly 1,000 different career roles. Its membership service provides additional services and benefits designed to help career seekers and changers advance toward their career goals. Sokanu was formed in 2012 and is based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Buy -

Seller(S) 1

SELLER

Sterling Partners Private Equity

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

website

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1983
PE ASSETS 5.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

Sterling Partners Private Equity is the private equity arm of asset management firm Sterling Partners. Sterling Partners Private Equityis focused on investing in small to medium-sized companies positioned for growth, either organically or through acquisitions. Sterling has a strong interest in businesses with differentiated products, defensible competitive positions, recurring revenues, and diversified customers. The Firm's target equity commitment size is $5 to $175 million. Broad sectors of interest include direct marketing, education, specialty distribution, specialty manufacturing, healthcare, technology, and business services. Sterling Partners was formed in 1983 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 41 of 51
Sector (Education) 6 of 7
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 27 of 34
State (Georgia) 3 of 4
Country (United States) 40 of 49
Year (2019) 2 of 4
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-01-10 Kids Care Dental & Orthodontics

Sacramento, California, United States

Kids Care Dental & Orthodontics is a multi-site practice that offers comprehensive services including preventive dental care, orthodontics, and oral surgery for every gap-toothed, mischievous, silly and giggly smile. Kids Care Dental & Orthodontics was established in 2002 and is based in Sacramento, California.

Sell -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2019-02-21 Livingston International

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Livingston International focuses on customs brokerage and trade compliance, offering international trade consulting, global trade management and freight forwarding. It provides clarity in a world of trade complexity, so businesses can grow further, faster and smarter. Livingston employs associates at more than 100 key border points, sea ports, airports and other strategic locations across North America, Europe and Asia.

Sell -
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