EQT exits ITS Learning to trade

ITS's management team retained a minority stake in the company, which will become part of Sanoma Learning SBU.

With this acquisition, Sanoma expects to expand its footprint in digital learning across Norway, France and Germany, and strengthen its position in several core markets. Its platform will serve around 15 million students across Europe, according to the company. Sanoma generated revenues of €1.3bn and employed more than 4,400 staff in 2018.

EQT acquired a majority stake in ITS for approximately €47m from Viking Ventures and Creandum in March 2013. The two Nordic venture capital houses had backed the company with a $7m investment in May 2010.

EQT invested a mix of equity and debt, and deployed capital from its €474m EQT Expansion Capital II fund. ITS's founders and management team reinvested the majority of their proceeds in the business and partnered with the GP.

Under EQT's ownership, ITS strengthened its footprint in Scandinavia and the UK through the completion of two add-ons, and doubled its revenues. 

With the GP's support, the company also professionalised its business model, and invested heavily in R&D to further improve its Learning Management System (LMS) platform.

Company
Established in 1999, ITS provides a digital learning management platform that allows schools to personalise and share curriculum resources, instructional strategies, objective-based lesson plans and assessments.

Its cloud-based software acts as a hub for distribution of digital learning materials and enables collaboration between teachers, students and parents, including best-practice sharing, use of learning modules, uploading of assignments and assessment communication.

The company is headquartered in Bergen, Norway, with operations in the rest of Scandinavia, the Netherlands, France, Germany, the UK and the US. ITS employs 200 staff and is used by more than 6 million users, from primary schools to corporate education institutions, according to the company. It generated revenues of €30m in 2018.

People
EQT Partners – Anders Misund (partner).
ITS Learning – Arne Bergby (CEO).
Sanoma Corporation – Susan Duinhoven (CEO).

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