BC Partners Joins Vista Equity Partners as an Investor in EAB
WASHINGTON, DC, May 10, 2021 – Education company EAB announced today that BC Partners, a leading international private equity firm, will invest in EAB alongside existing investor Vista Equity Partners (“Vista”). Together, BC Partners and Vista will enhance EAB’s ability to innovate and build solutions that help schools find and enroll right-fit students, support and graduate more students, and prepare their institutions for the future.
“EAB’s employees and partner institutions continue to inspire me with their passion and service to students, particularly over the past year,” said David Felsenthal, Chief Executive Officer, EAB. “With BC Partners and Vista, we will achieve even stronger results for students, schools, and society.”
BC Partners supports market-leading businesses around the globe. Vista has a history of enhancing world-class enterprise software, data, and technology-enabled companies. Their shared approach to enhancing successful companies will support EAB in its mission to make education smarter and communities stronger.
“We are impressed by the EAB team and their ability to solve schools’ most complex problems,” said Mark Fariborz, Partner, BC Partners. “The company has built a best-in-class ecosystem of marketing and enrollment solutions, the industry’s first student success management system, and research offerings that drive strategic change on critical topics like equity and financial sustainability. We look forward to helping EAB and its management team continue to provide progressive, impactful products that enable institutions to thrive through periods of disruption and change.”
“EAB has proven that it can help schools grow enrollments, narrow opportunity gaps, improve graduation rates, and fulfill their missions,” said Michael Fosnaugh, Co-Head of the Vista Flagship Fund and Senior Managing Director. “For over 30 years, the company has focused on innovating to drive positive educational outcomes. We are proud of the EAB team and, with BC Partners, look forward to a successful next chapter together.” UBS Securities LLC acted as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP as legal advisor to EAB and Vista. BC Partners was advised by Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
About EAB At EAB, our mission is to make education smarter and our communities stronger. We harness the collective power of more than 2,100 schools, colleges, and universities to uncover and apply proven practices and transformative insights. And since complex problems require multifaceted solutions, we work with each school differently to apply these insights through a customized blend of research, technology, and services. From kindergarten to college and beyond, EAB partners with education leaders, practitioners, and staffs to accelerate progress and drive results across three key areas: enrollment management, student success, and institutional operations and strategy.
About Vista Equity Partners Vista is a leading global investment firm with more than $75 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2020. The firm exclusively invests in enterprise software, data and technology-enabled organizations across private equity, permanent capital, credit and public equity strategies, bringing an approach that prioritizes creating enduring market value for the benefit of its global ecosystem of investors, companies, customers and employees. Vista’s investments are anchored by a sizable long-term capital base, experience in structuring technology-oriented transactions and proven, flexible management techniques that drive sustainable growth. Vista believes the transformative power of technology is the key to an even better future – a healthier planet, a smarter economy, a diverse and inclusive community and a broader path to prosperity. Further information is available at vistaequitypartners.com. Follow Vista on LinkedIn, @Vista Equity Partners, and on Twitter, @Vista_Equity.
About BC Partners BC Partners is a leading international investment firm with over $40 billion of assets under management in private equity, private credit and real estate strategies. Established in 1986, BC Partners has played an active role in developing the European and North American buyout market for three decades. Today, BC Partners executives operate across markets as an integrated team through the firm’s offices in North America and Europe. Since inception, BC Partners has completed 121 private equity investments in companies with a total enterprise value of over $190 billion and is currently investing its eleventh private equity fund.