Q3 2019 Education Industry Trends

Q3 2019 Key Highlights

The most active market segment in Q3 2019 was K-12 Media and Tech with 20 transactions, which slightly surpassed the 18 deals in the Professional Training Services segment.

The combined Professional Training Technology and Services segments accounted for 35 percent of aggregate volume during the quarter.

Strategic acquirers accounted for 67 percent of the industry’s total volume and 57 percent of total value year-to-date.

Q3 2019 Key Trends

Total transaction volume in the 1st 3 Quarters of 2019 improved by four percent over the 1st 3 Quarters of 2018, from 333 to 346.

Total transaction value in the 1st 3 Quarters of 2019 declined by 33 percent over the 1st 3 Quarters of 2018, from $9.6 billion to $6.5 billion.

Professional Training Technology was the only sector to see volume rise in each of the 1st 3 Quarters of 2019, from 11 in Q1 to 18 in Q2 to 20 in Q3.

Multiples & Value Trends

The median revenue multiple on a year-over-year basis increased from 2.0x to 3.2x.

Top Ten Deals Through Q3 2019

The top ten deals by value have seen two new additions since our half year report, both of which were completed by acquirers based in China: YuHua Education’s acquisition of Shandong Yingcai University for $217 million; and Bright Scholar’s announced acquisition of CATS Colleges for $188 million.

These two transactions, with an aggregate value of $405 million, represented six percent of transaction value in the 1st 3 Quarters of 2019 and 25 percent of Q3 2019 transaction value.