A Bristol education software firm has been acquired by Ellucian, a private equity-backed US software company, in a deal which could reach the value of £172m.
Tribal Group works with tertiary education, schools, government and state bodies, training providers and employers, in more than 55 countries. Ellucian hopes the acquisition will expand its global reach in key markets and accelerate adopted of SaaS for tertiary education institutions world wide.
The all-cash offer values Tribal's entire issued, and to be issued, ordinary share capital at approximately £159m on a fully diluted basis and implies an enterprise value of £172m.
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Ellucian is a provider of modern, cloud-ready technology and services serving the tertiary education community and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. In 2021, the business was acquired by funds managed by Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners Management.
Together with Tribal, Ellucian will enhance and expand its global product capabilities, leading to a broader set of modern technology solutions that enable institutions to deliver an exceptional student experience. In addition, the combination will allow Ellucian to provide improved product and support across geographies while expanding the company's customer base.
Laura Ipsen, president and chief executive of Ellucian, said: "Tribal is in clear alignment with Ellucian's strategy, purpose and values, and this is an exciting opportunity to expand our combined reach as we power tertiary education so institutions can empower student success. We recognize Tribal's notable transformation journey to cloud and are eager to work with Tribal's strong leadership and talented team. With this investment, we can accelerate our impact in large and important educational markets around the world."
Richard Last, the chairman of Tribal added: "Joining Ellucian will create an enhanced platform which will leverage the strengths of both businesses across the complementary geographies in which Tribal and Ellucian operate for the benefit of our customers, enabling the provision of a broader set of solutions.
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"I believe that the combined group will also provide opportunities for our employees to play a significant role in delivering value for our customers."
Bank of America Merrill Lynch served as lead financial advisor and RBC Capital Markets, LLC also served as financial advisor to Ellucian. Kirkland & Ellis International LLP and Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider served as legal advisors to Ellucian.
William Blair International, Limited served as financial advisor to Tribal and Taylor Wessing served as legal advisor to Tribal.