Excelligence Learning, a portfolio company of Brentwood Associates since December 2014, has acquired ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI), a provider of online professional development and training and education certificates to the early childhood market.
CCEI offers its programs across an array of early childhood settings, including preschool centers, family child care, prekindergarten classrooms, nanny care, online daycare training and more. More than 100 English and Spanish early childhood training courses are available online to meet licensing, recognition program, and Head Start requirements. The company is nationally accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC); is accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET); and is also authorized under the Nonpublic Postsecondary Educational Institutions Act of 1990. CCEI is led by CEO Maria Taylor and is based in Duluth, GA (www.cceionline.edu).
The buy of CCEI continues an active period of acquisitions for Excelligence, having added educational products makers Really Good Stuff (www.reallygoodstuff.com) and Children’s Factory (www.childrensfactory.com) to its portfolio of brands in 2016.
Excelligence Learning is a developer, manufacturer, distributor, and multi-channel retailer of educational products, which are sold to child care programs, preschools, elementary schools, and consumers. The company has more than 20,000 SKUs and serves the pre-K and elementary markets, offering a one-stop shop for teachers,
institutions, and parents seeking educational products. Excelligence provides a selection of branded, private label, and proprietary products across several categories including arts and crafts, infant and toddler, active play, dramatic play, furniture & equipment, math, language, and science. In addition to its headquarters in Monterey, CA, the company operates five distribution facilities throughout the US. Excelligence was founded in 1985 (www.excelligence.com).
According to Brentwood, the strategy for Excelligence is to build the company in each of its three core areas: Supplies, Equipment, and Services. “Growing our presence in the services sector of the early care and education industry is a key strategic priority for Excelligence,” said Dipak Golechha, President and COO of Excelligence.
Brentwood Associates is a consumer-focused private equity investment firm with over $1.4 billion of capital under management. Sectors of interest include branded consumer products; consumer and business services; direct marketing, including direct mail and e-commerce; education; health and wellness; restaurants; and specialty retail. The firm was founded in 1972 and is based in Los Angeles (www.brentwood.com).
Parchman, Vaughan & Company (www.parchmanvaughan.com), a Baltimore-based specialist investment bank in the education and training sector, advised CCEI. Excelligence was advised by Tyton Partners (www.tytonpartners.com).
© 2017 Private Equity Professional | March 14, 2017
