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Consortium around EMERAM and Gimv to support German digital learning platform sofatutor in the next growth phase
- sofatutor is the most comprehensive digital education platform for schoolchildren in the German-speaking countries
- Number of users has grown during a highly successful 2020 to more than 1 million schoolchildren
- Additional digital education offerings and integration within in-school activity to be key drivers of future growth
EMERAM Capital Partners, one of the leading investment companies in the German-speaking region with a focus on medium-sized companies, is heading an investor consortium together with the investment company Gimv, amongst others, to lead digital company sofatutor into the next growth phase. The consortium will thus take on from the previous share owners. sofatutor is regarded as one of Germany’s leading digital education platforms for years one to twelve (K-12). Through additional innovative offerings, sofatutor plans to meet the demand for online learning tools and improve access to first-class education. In this way, the strong growth of the past years is to be continued into the future.
Founded in 2008, the company currently has more than one million users. Moreover, sofatutor is used by more than 25 percent of all teachers across Germany and has been introduced in the Federal States of Saxony and Bremen. sofatutor therefore sees itself positioned as the most comprehensive provider for digital learning tools in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, a market with a total of more than 11 million schoolchildren.
The sofatutor product and service portfolio covers a wide range of more than 11,000 videos, as well as exercises and worksheets for 14 different school subjects. Students can access material conveniently via the web-based platform or via sofatutor app and can chat about homework tasks in real-time with qualified teachers.
Dr. Christian Näther, founding partner of EMERAM, says: “High-quality education has an important societal role in any country. We are therefore pleased to support sofatutor in extending its educational offering still further. Sofatutor is already seeing huge demand for its digital learning tools, which has been boosted still further by home-schooling and the pandemic. We would like to continue the success story.” Matthias Obermeyr, Partner at EMERAM, adds: “Thanks to its comprehensive, digital offering, its strong innovation and attractive value proposition, sofatutor already occupies a strong market position. Extending the digital product range and expanding digital learning models offers significant further growth potential.”
Stephan Bayer, CEO of sofatutor and the company’s founder, explains: “With more than one million users and the largest network of teachers integrating sofatutor’s content into their lessons, sofatutor has long been the leading provider of digital learning applications. With the new consortium of investors, we again have a strong group of investors at our side who will accompany and support the company with their expertise in the next growth phase. Innovative digital learning tools will continue to be our DNA into the future. We want to support schools, teachers and schoolchildren not only after school but also by offering digital learning content for school daytime activity.”
Dr. Sven Oleownik, Partner and Head of Germany at European investment company specialized in growth companies, Gimv, comments: “With its investment in sofatutor, Gimv confirms its commitment to investing in future-oriented companies along the fundamental trends of digitalization, sustainability and convenience, and is supporting together with EMERAM an excellently led company which, with its digital offering, is perfectly addressing the United Nations goals with respect to high quality education and digital innovation.” Koen Bouckaert, Managing Partner and Head of Consumer at Gimv, adds: “We are therefore particularly pleased to allocate part of our recently issued sustainable bond towards sofatutor’s growth story, thus making a significant contribution to both the company and society at large.”
The investor consortium around EMERAM and Gimv was advised in the transaction by IEG Investment Banking Group (M&A), GLNS and McDermott (Legal), PwC (Financial, Tax and Commercial) and Xperify (Tech/Marketing).
The transaction is subject to the usual conditions, including approval by the competition authorities. Further financial details are not to be disclosed.
Founded 13 years ago by Stephan Bayer, sofatutor.com is today the most comprehensive online learning platform in the German-speaking region, with more than one million users, more than 11,000 educational videos and over 43,000 exercises. With a mission to improve education, Bayer together with his team of over 200 people is helping schoolchildren from elementary school to high-school Abitur graduation – and has become, particularly during the year of corona, a pioneer and pillar of educational digitalization. The educational content is adapted to relevant age groups and is aligned to current state study plans.
Gimv is a European investment company, listed on Euronext Brussels. With 40 years' experience in private equity, Gimv currently has EUR 2 billion of assets under management. The portfolio contains 55 portfolio companies, with combined turnover of EUR 2.5 billion and 14,000 employees. Gimv’s commitment to making a positive contribution to society has been demonstrated amongst others through the recent successful issue of a sustainable bond.
As a recognized market leader in selected investment platforms, Gimv identifies entrepreneurial, innovative companies with high growth potential and supports them in their transformation into market leaders. Gimv's four investment platforms are Consumer, Health & Care, Smart Industries and Sustainable Cities. Each platform works with an experienced team across Gimv’s home markets of Benelux, France and DACH, supported by an extended international network of experts.
EMERAM Capital Partners is a leading equity investment company for SMEs in German-speaking countries. As a business development partner, we foster the long-term growth of our portfolio companies with capital and expertise.
The funds advised by EMERAM invest in the consumer, technology/software and service sectors. Their total volume currently stands at EUR 400 million. In general, the funds acquire a significant stake in the company and give the respective management team an opportunity to invest, too.