Modern Campus, a portfolio company of The Riverside Company, has quickly followed up its buy last month of DIGARC, with the acquisition of Presence, a provider of campus engagement software.
Presence is a web and mobile software platform that is used by colleges and universities to collect, structure and analyze student involvement data to increase student engagement (track and verify attendance), allocate funding, improve retention, and promote student development. Presence was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in St Petersburg, Florida.
Toronto, Ontario-based Modern Campus’ software is used by educational institutions to manage continuing education and non-degree programs. In May 2018, Riverside acquired Destiny Solutions, a Toronto-headquartered provider of student lifecycle management software and in October 2019, merged the company with OmniUpdate, a California-based provider of web content management systems to educational institutions. In March 2021, Riverside rebranded the combined businesses as Modern Campus and acquired nuCloud, a provider of interactive campus maps and virtual tours. As mentioned earlier, Modern Campus added on again with the June 2021 buy of DIGARC (formerly Digital Architecture), a Florida-based provider of academic catalog and curriculum management, class and student scheduling software.
“We are very pleased to complete this add-on to our Modern Campus platform, another example of Riverside’s commitment to fostering long-term growth in our portfolio companies,” said Loren Schlachet, a managing partner at Riverside. “This acquisition further enhances the suite of products and services Modern Campus provides to higher education institutions, helping them actively support the learner-to-earner student lifecycle.”
New York City-headquartered The Riverside Company is a global private equity firm focused on investing in and acquiring growing businesses valued at up to $400 million. Since its founding in 1988, Riverside has invested in more than 750 transactions and its current portfolio includes more than 120 companies.
“The buy of Presence extends the Modern Campus customer footprint to more than 1,200 colleges and universities across North America,” said Joe Manning, a senior partner at Riverside. “Presence is an ideal complement to Modern Campus, helping the company even more efficiently and effectively deliver the massively personalized student experiences that help foster learner success.”
Working with Mr. Schlachet and Mr. Manning on the Presence transaction were Principal Steve Rice; Principal, Originations Cheryl Strom; Assistant Vice President Kenneth Johnson; Associate David Myers; Finance Director Doug Guess; and Operating Partner Steve Pogorzelski.
© 2021 Private Equity Professional | July 15, 2021