William Blair acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Fusion Education Group, a portfolio company of Laird Norton Company and Winona Capital Management, in connection with its sale to Leeds Equity Partners. Fusion is a leading provider of premium, private pay K-12 education, offering a revolutionary one-on-one platform to students who have struggled in a traditional school setting. With over 40 locations, Fusion is the only nationally accredited provider of its scale and continues to achieve high growth. The transaction demonstrates continued combined advisory strength in William Blair's education services and specialty multi-site retail franchises, and closed on November 20, 2017.
Transaction Highlights
- Deep sector knowledge and buyer access: William Blair's experienced cross-industry team of education services and multi-site retail bankers provided Fusion with compelling strategic positioning and access to strategic and financial buyers that would be most interested in the company's uniquely attractive profile. Thoughtfully articulating the embedded growth within Fusion's expanding national platform proved critical in driving value.
- Execution excellence leads to outlier outcome: William Blair's transaction team conducted a rigorous marketing process that included a number of early investor meetings and capitalized on the unique attributes of the business to engage the most relevant strategic and financial buyers.
- Trusted guidance: This transaction demonstrates continued successful advisory momentum in William Blair’s education services franchise. William Blair has maintained a long-standing, trusted relationship with Fusion, Laird Norton Company, and Winona Capital Management. Investor feedback from the 2015 and 2016 Private Equity Conferences, ICR Conference, and ASU GSV Summit provided the William Blair team with unique insights into buyer interest, optimal positioning of the company, and key diligence items. This dynamic facilitated a successful process and favorable outcome for the company and its shareholders.
About the Companies
Fusion Education Group, formerly known as American Education Group and founded in 2007, is the leading national provider of accredited, alternative private education for grades 6-12 utilizing a highly unique and personalized one-on-one classroom model. The company's revolutionary one-on-one learning model drives exceptional student outcomes for students who have struggled in a traditional public or private school setting. Fusion's dedicated teachers and administrators foster a supportive campus environment where every student can flourish—emotionally, socially and academically. Based in Grand Rapids, the company operates a national network of 43 private middle and high schools, which offer flexible scheduling across more than 300 courses and include arts and music instruction, wellness programs, and therapeutic services.
Leeds Equity was the first and remains the largest private equity firm with an exclusive focus on the knowledge sector, comprising the education, training, business services and information services and software industries. Its innovative solutions are helping meet the growing professional needs of knowledge-economy students and workers. Leeds invests in established companies that address high-stakes challenges, have differentiated products and services, provide measurable outcomes, and have minimal intermediation by third parties. Founded in 1993, Leeds has deployed over $1.2 billion of capital in investments across the knowledge sector spectrum.