Odewald KMU II acquires a stake in Education partners GmbH
The acquisition of a majority share in Education partners GmbH (“Education partners”) marks the tenth investment of the second Odewald KMU Fund. It is planned to continue the company’s successful growth path in a partnership with the founders, Eike Hovermann and Jochen Brode, in the next years. The parties have agreed not to disclose the terms of the transaction.
About Education partners
Education partners operates several learning academies that focus on vocational trainings in different segments. The core brands Akademie für Kindergarten, Kita und Hort and Fernakademie für Pädagogik und Sozialberufe offer a broad course portfolio around pedagogical topics and focus on educators and pedagogical professionals. Further academies in the fields of sports and health management and marketing complete the educational offer since several years.
Courses, seminars and trainings are offered online, face-to-face, or within the framework of distance learning courses, thus providing maximum flexibility for potential participants. Courses offered by Education partners enjoy an excellent reputation in the market and are known for their high-quality content. All academies operated by Education partners show exceptionally high recommendation rates and are well positioned for further growth in existing market segments.
In the next years, it is planned to exploit growth opportunities in new segments and to develop and introduce new innovative learning forms across all academies. When entering new segments, Education partners benefits from a lean organisational structure as well as extensive know-how in the creation of courses and learning content, the certification processes for course content and in the marketing of the courses. In order to implement the defined growth strategy, the founders and managing directors, Mr. Eike Hovermann and Mr. Jochen Brode, have entered into a partnership with Odewald KMU. Messrs. Hovermann and Brode have significantly re-invested in Education partners and will continue to lead the company as managing directors.
Mr Hovermann and Mr Brode commented as follows: “After the strong growth of our company in the past, we were looking for a reliable and financially strong partner who shares our vision and can strategically support our continued growth ambitions. Besides this, it was important for us to maintain our dynamic and flexible corporate culture and to continue to be able to quickly implement our innovative ideas. With Odewald KMU, we have found exactly this partner.”
“We are looking forward to the partnership with Messrs. Hovermann and Brode and are convinced that we will be able to significantly support the further development of Education partners. At the same time, we are proud to invest in the attractive market segment of vocational trainings, to help develop sustainable learning methods and thereby make a positive contribution to society”, says Igor Golubov, partner at Odewald KMU.