Palamon Capital Partners to Acquire Business School24
Palamon Capital Partners is to acquire Business School24, the education and training unit of Il Sole 24 ORE, Italy's leading business newspaper.
Palamon will acquire 49% of the company at an enterprise valuation of €80 million with a call option to acquire an additional 2% in May 2018. The sale agreement has arrangements in place for Palamon to acquire additional equity with Il Sole agreeing to retain a minimum 20% strategic stake in the company going forward.
Business School24 is a leading player in the tertiary education segment in Italy and provides professionally-oriented education and training.
Fabio Massimo Giuseppetti, partner of Palamon Capital Partners, says: “Business School24 is one of the most widely respected education brands in Italy and it is playing a key role in overcoming the structural disconnection between tertiary education and graduate employment. We are therefore delighted to be partnering with Il Sole 24 ORE to help accelerate growth in the provision of specialised vocational training and a pathway to the labour market for young Italians. We look forward to working with the talented management team and building out the platform over the years to come.”
Franco Moscetti, CEO of Il Sole 24 ORE, adds: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Palamon to accelerate the expansion of our education services across offline and online channels. Their track record in the education sector and understanding of the industry dynamics convinced us of their ability to successfully capture the market opportunity in Italy.”
