goetzpartners and GP Bullhound advised GoStudent GmbH

goetzpartners and GP Bullhound advised GoStudent GmbH on the acquisition of Studienkreis GmbH

goetzpartners and GP Bullhound together advised GoStudent GmbH ("GoStudent"), an EdTech unicorn headquartered in Vienna, on the acquisition of Germany-based Studienkreis GmbH ("Studienkreis") from IK Partners.

As part of its ongoing mission to become the number 1 global school and a leading education provider, GoStudent has announced the acquisition of the long-standing Germany-based private tutoring company. The acquisition is in line with GoStudent's strategy to combine both online and offline tutoring and to give people access to quality education through technology. After GoStudent had already successfully completed several strategic acquisitions in the last 12 months, such as UK-based Seneca Learning, Tus Media Group from Spain and Fox Education from Austria, the acquisition of Studienkreis from Germany represents the company's largest acquisition.

«Over 1.5 million online tutoring sessions are booked with GoStudent each month, but we believe the future of learning is hybrid. Combining online and offline offerings creates an omnichannel model that maximises value for families and creates a barrier for competitors. With today's announcement, GoStudent now offers a full range of learning solutions for every type of student and budget. In addition to our core offering of 1:1 online tutoring, we offer everything from freemium products to group tutoring. It is this winning combination that will drive our future growth while increasing profitability.» 
– Felix Ohswald, Co-Founder and CEO of GoStudent.

«Since our first meeting, it was clear the two companies shared a passion and belief that the future of learning is hybrid, and we believe technology is key to enabling that. GoStudent’s position in the online world, together with our strong brand and physical position in Germany, will create a blueprint for building individual, dynamic learning paths so each student can not only improve their grades but unlock their full potential. We are very excited to be part of this next phase of growth.» 
– Lorenz Haase, CEO of Studienkreis.

goetzpartners and GP Bullhound acted as M&A buy-side advisors to GoStudent. This transaction further demonstrates goetzpartners’ competence in the Consumer Services/ Education space and ability to support clients with strategic buy-and-build services.

About GoStudent
GoStudent is one of the world's leading online tutoring providers and, with a valuation of €3 billion, the most highly valued EdTech company in Europe. GoStudent was founded in 2016 by Felix Ohswald (CEO) and Gregor Müller (COO) in Vienna. Through the platform, GoStudent serves customers globally offering fee-based, one-on-one video lessons in more than 30 subjects for all school levels and subjects. Various investors, including Prosus and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, have invested more than €590 million in the rapidly growing platform. The company works with over 23,000 independent tutors on providing over 1.5 million tutoring sessions each month.

About Studienkreis
Founded in 1974, Studienkreis is a private education company, headquartered in Bochum, Germany. Since then, Studienkreis has expanded rapidly throughout Germany and neighbouring countries. About one third of its approximately 1,000 locations is operated as a franchise. In 2017, the company was acquired by IK Partners. Under the ownership of IK, Studienkreis expanded to Austria through the acquisition of LernQuadrat in 2018 and strengthened its market-leading position in DACH through increased brand awareness and the provision of high-quality tutoring services. By combining offline tutoring with online services as well as own-developed digital tools, Studienkreis shares a vision for developing a blended learning experience.

Transaction Team

Adelin Trusculescu
Director
Email

Hakan Bilgili
Analyst