Avathon Capital, an education and workforce sector focused private equity firm, has acquired Summit Professional Education.
Summit is a provider of more than 1,500 in-person and online continuing and professional education courses for physical therapists and assistants, occupational therapists and assistants, and speech language pathologists. Since its founding in 2004, Summit has educated over 400,000 health care professionals.
According to Avathon, the $4.7 billion healthcare continuing professional education (CPE) sector is large and economically durable driven by licensure mandates and ongoing training requirements needed to maintain one’s license. The market of providers of CPE is highly fragmented and its participants are often under-resourced, which provides compelling opportunities for consolidation.
“Our acquisition of Summit was driven by a meticulous research-first and executive-first strategy that identified Summit as a high-potential platform aligned with our investment criteria,” said Brian Schwartz, a managing director at Avathon. “This approach, combined with our deep understanding of the market’s nuances developed through our executive engagements, ensured a well-prepared and timely execution of this investment.”
“Summit’s established market position and scalable business model make it an ideal platform to advance our presence in the professional education sector,” said Nishaad Balachandran, a principal at Avathon. “Our strategic investment underscores our commitment to fostering growth and enhancing educational outcomes across the healthcare industry.”
Post-closing, Avathon will assist Summit with building its go-to-market strategy, organically expand its course library, and has already begun pursuing several add-on acquisitions in the healthcare and financial services sectors.
Avathon Capital, led by managing partners Shoshana Vernick and Jason Rosenberg, makes control or minority equity investments of $10 million to $50 million in education and workforce-focused companies. Avathon is part of Chicago-based Sterling Partners which makes control, non-control, and preferred equity investments in a variety of companies in various stages of growth from early-stage, high-growth businesses to mature, profitable companies.
Sterling’s education and workforce investment strategy was launched in 2015 through its Education Opportunity Fund and was formalized in 2019 with the launch of Avathon Capital. The acquisition of Summit is Avathon’s fourteenth platform investment.
Monroe Capital (NASDAQ: MRCC) backed Avathon’s buy of Summit both as the sole lead arranger and administrative agent on a senior credit facility, and as an equity co-investor. Monroe Capital provides senior and junior debt financing to middle-market businesses, special situation borrowers, and private equity sponsors. Investment types include unitranche financings; cash flow, asset-based, and enterprise value-based loans; and equity co-investments. The firm was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Chicago with 10 additional offices throughout the United States and Asia.
Houlihan Lokey was the financial advisor to Summit on this transaction.
© 2024 Private Equity Professional | May 21, 2024
