Onex Corp to buy Tes Global from Providence Equity Partners

Onex Corp has agreed to acquire Tes Global, a London, UK-based provider of software solutions to the education sector. No financial terms were released for the deal, which is expected to close in Q1 2022. The seller is Providence Equity Partners, which has backed Tes Global since 2019.

PRESS RELEASE

TORONTO and LONDON, Dec. 07, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Onex Corporation (“Onex”) (TSX: ONEX) today announced that Onex Partners V, Onex’ $7.2 billion fund, has agreed to acquire Tes Global (“Tes” or the “Company”), a leading education technology services provider, from Providence Equity Partners L.L.C. (“Providence”), a premier private equity firm that specializes in growth-oriented investments in media, communications, education and technology. Tes’ management team will also invest alongside Onex. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Based in London, England, Tes 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’ offering falls into three pillars – Staff Management, Safeguarding & Compliance, and Pupil & Learning Management – hosting over 13 million teachers on its online platform and serving over 17,000 schools in 117 countries. Tes also provides teachers with continuous professional development training in addition to software tools to deliver excellence in the classroom. The Company’s products and services have proven critical throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as teaching and assessment have largely taken place remotely.

“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,” said Nigel Wright, a Senior Managing Director at Onex. “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.”

“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,” stated Rod Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Tes. “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.”

Andrew Tisdale, Senior Managing Director at Providence, said: “We are honored to have partnered with Tes and help 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.

Onex was advised by Rothschild & Co. as financial advisors and Latham & Watkins LLP as legal counsel. Tes was advised by Arma Partners and Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc (“Morgan Stanley”) as financial advisors and by Weil, Gotshal & Manges as legal counsel.

About 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’ platforms include: Onex Partners, private equity funds focused on mid- to large-cap opportunities in North America and Western Europe; ONCAP, private equity funds focused on middle market and smaller opportunities in North America; Onex Credit, which manages primarily non-investment grade debt through tradeable, private and opportunistic credit strategies as well as actively managed public equity and public credit funds; and Gluskin Sheff’s wealth management services. In total, as of September 30, 2021, Onex has approximately $47 billion of assets under management, of which approximately $7.9 billion is its own investing capital. With offices in Toronto, New York, New Jersey, Boston and London, Onex and its experienced management teams are collectively the largest investors across Onex’ platforms.