CeriFi, a portfolio company of Leeds Equity Partners, has acquired Pass Perfect, a provider of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) license exam training.
Pass Perfect partners with financial institutions to ensure employees are trained for and in compliance with FINRA licensure, rules and regulations.
The company was founded in 1988 and in its history has trained over 1 million securities professionals. Pass Perfect, led by President Ed Fleur, is headquartered in Greenwich, CT (www.passperfect.com).
“After several years of discussions, we are excited to partner with Ed and the Pass Perfect team,” said Jacques Galante, Managing Director of Leeds Equity Partners. “The acquisition of Pass Perfect represents a further step in Leeds Equity’s strategy of building the premier education, training and certification provider focused exclusively on the financial services industry.”
The buy of Pass Perfect is the fourth add-on acquisition completed by CeriFi since being formed by Leeds in 2017. In April 2018, it acquired Middleton, OH-based Keir Educational Resources, a provider of training programs for financial services professionals that are preparing for the Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and several property and casualty examinations (www.keirsuccess.com); In July 2017, it acquired Suwanee, GA-based Dalton Education, a provider of CFP education and exam preparation services (www.dalton-education.com). Also in July 2017, CeriFi acquired Metairie, LA-based Cobalt Financial Solutions (DBA Money Education), a publisher of digital textbooks and several reference workbooks for tax and financial planning (www.money-education.com).
“Pass Perfect broadens CeriFi’s training and certification solutions, thereby enhancing its position as the best in class provider of lifelong learning for financial services professionals,” said Eric Geveda, Principal of Leeds Equity Partners. “We intend to continue to expand CeriFi’s product offering to more holistically address the needs of financial institutions through organic and acquisition initiatives.”
CeriFi is one of five investments in Leeds Equity Partners most recent private equity fund, Leeds Equity Partners VI LP, which closed in June 2018 above its target of $750 million.
Leeds Equity Partners is focused exclusively on investing in the education, training and information services industries. The firm was founded by Jeffrey Leeds and Robert Bernstein in 1993 and has raised and managed more than $1.5 billion of capital across six funds. The firm is located in New York (www.leedsequity.com).
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | August 16, 2018