Investment management firm Onex Corporation has recently announced that Onex Partners V, Onex’ $7.2 billion fund, has agreed to acquire Tes Global, a leading education technology services provider, from Providence Equity Partners.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Based in London, Tes Global is an international provider of comprehensive software solutions for the education sector. Its core vision is to power schools and enable great teaching worldwide by creating intelligent online products and services to make the greatest difference in education. Tes’ products play a critical role in helping teachers and school leaders deal with the challenges of teaching, including safeguarding and compliance, pupil and learning management, and staff management. Tes also provides teachers with continuous professional development training in addition to software tools to deliver excellence in the classroom.
Issuing a statement on the development, Nigel Wright, a Senior Managing Director at Onex, said,
“Tes has a well-established brand and deep-rooted relationships with teachers, creating an unparalleled and highly differentiated place in the market. We were attracted to its focus of helping both teachers and school administrators deliver better educational outcomes for students in the UK and around the world. The company is well-positioned to grow and to expand its offering of EdTech point-solutions. Onex’ experience in both the Business Services industry and supporting companies in their acquisition plans makes us the ideal partner for Tes. We’re thrilled to be joining Rod and the entire Tes team as we look to accelerate the company’s next phase of growth.”
Rod Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Tes, stated,
“Onex has a wealth of experience and an impressive track record of helping the companies it partners with to grow and thrive. We’re delighted to have found another team whose values are aligned with our vision for the company and are committed to our future. On behalf of everyone at Tes, we’d like to thank Providence for their guidance and support as we transformed our business under their stewardship.”
Tes claims to host the largest community of teachers in the world with over 13 million teachers on its online platform serving over 17,000 schools in 117 countries.
Andrew Tisdale, Senior Managing Director at Providence, said,
“We are honored to have partnered with Tes and helped the company accelerate its mission of providing world-class tools to drive high-quality education. Since partnering with Tes in 2019, we have supported several strategic acquisitions, including Edval, EduCare, and SchoolCloud. Together with the launch of new products and services, these efforts have seen Tes firmly transition into a technology-first partner for teachers and schools, which has been invaluable during a period of sustained remote learning owing to the global pandemic. We are confident Rod and his team have a strong partner in Onex to build on its existing momentum and continue to grow the business.”
The transaction is anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2022. With this transaction, Onex Partners V will be approximately 78% invested. Tes Global management team will also invest alongside Onex.
Founded in 1984, Onex manages and invests capital on behalf of its shareholders, institutional investors, and high net worth clients from around the world. Onex’s various platforms include Onex Partners, ONCAP, Onex Credit, and Gluskin Sheff, one of Canada’s pre-eminent wealth management firms.
