Bridgepoint acquires Wolters Kluwer Education
Wolters Kluwer Education (WKE), the educational division of Wolters Kluwer NV, the quoted Dutch-based global information services and publishing company, has been acquired by European private equity firm Bridgepoint in a transaction which values the company at €774 million.
WKE is a European educational publisher focussing on curriculum based education and learning solutions. Founded in the Netherlands in 1836, it is now the leading provider of primary, secondary, and vocational educational material, content and services in seven European countries (the Netherlands, Sweden, UK, Germany, Belgium, Austria, and Hungary). The company offers bundled packages of content (textbooks, teaching aides, testing and assessment tools and revision aides) in both electronic and traditional print format. The business is currently investing significant resource to develop new product development systems and e-learning content.
WKE Chief Executive Fred Grainger thanked parent Wolters Kluwer for its support for the business and welcomed the new investment by Bridgepoint. “WKE is entering a new stage in its long history that will require a supportive investor. I know that Bridgepoint shares our vision and will help us drive future strategy and development of the business.”
Mike Black, partner at Bridgepoint, said: “WKE is an extremely attractive business with a talented workforce and strong brands that operates in a growing but changing market. We believe it has significant potential to develop further by accelerating its expansion plans in e-learning, new product development and through possible market consolidation opportunities.”
Headquartered in Amsterdam and with c.1,300 full time employees and annual sales of €317m in 2006, WKE addresses 25 million students with its products in over 93,000 schools. The European educational publishing sector was worth €4.1 billion in 2005 with instructional textbooks (core curriculum materials) representing the majority of the education and training market expenditure. Expenditure on online delivered content represents the fastest growing sub-segment of the market, especially in primary and secondary education as teachers start to adopt new teaching methods. It is predicted that between 2005 and 2010 online delivered content will increase by a quarter.
Debt was provided by ING and Société Générale. Bridgepoint's advisers involved in this transaction included Greenhill & Co. (corporate finance), Clifford Chance (legal), and Deloitte (commercial and financial due diligence). Wolters Kluwer's advisers were Lehman Brothers (corporate finance), Allen & Overy (legal