FIVE ARROWS TO ADVANCE N2Y'S NEXT STAGE OF GROWTH AND EXPAND ITS REACH TO UNIQUE LEARNERS WORLDWIDE
PROVIDENCE EQUITY PARTNERS TO REMAIN A MINORITY INVESTOR
HURON, OHIO—BUSINESS WIRE
n2y (the “Company”), provider of comprehensive, technology powered solutions for students with unique learning challenges, today announced it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Five Arrows, the alternative assets arm of Rothschild & Co. n2y is the inaugural deal for Five Arrows Long Term Fund (“FALT”) which has invested alongside Five Arrows Principal Investments (“FAPI”), together “Five Arrows”. Five Arrows targets category‑leading B2B data and software sectors across a focused set of end‑markets including education and healthcare, with a long history of investing specifically in companies addressing the learning disabilities and special needs space in both Europe and North America. Five Arrows will become the majority shareholder and Providence Equity Partners will retain a minority equity stake in the Company. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded 25 years ago, n2y is a trailblazer in special education and leads the market with its award‑winning, research‑driven digital solutions and materials for school districts to help improve student outcomes. Sitting at the center of the special education classroom, n2y’s SaaS platform of integrated solutions has advanced the educational growth and inclusion of millions of students from pre‑K to 12+. In 2022, there were 7.2 million special education students in the United States, representing 15% of all K‑12 students. Districts and schools rely upon n2y to ensure these students are well served and to maintain compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) by implementing their IEP development, academic, communication, and behavioral wellness solutions.
“At n2y, we believe ‘Everyone Can Learn’. That mission motivates us to help unique learners achieve and to empower the educators, support staff and parents who are guiding them to independence. We’re thrilled that Five Arrows believes in n2y’s mission and wants to further our impact across the U.S. and beyond,” said Ed Holmes, CEO of n2y. “With their deep global experience in educational technology and long‑term investment perspective, Five Arrows was our partner of choice to help us broaden our platform’s solution offerings, untap new markets and expand our reach to impact even more children. We are grateful for Providence’s support and are pleased they will remain investors.”
Marc‑Olivier Laurent, one of the co‑founders of Five Arrows and Managing Partner of FALT and Jayson Yuan, Managing Director of FALT said: “n2y impressed us with their ability to organically grow, scale and execute in a highly deliberate way while maintaining industry‑leading levels of customer satisfaction. With an increased population of unique learners across the globe, we believe in n2y’s ability to meet educational needs with their proven solutions, culture of innovation and mission‑driven ethos and focus.”
Vivek Kumar and Sacha Oshry, both Partners at FAPI, added: “We share in n2y’s strategic vision centered around enabling teachers and improving learning outcomes. This investment demonstrates our commitment to Ed, the leadership team and n2y staff to sponsor them through their next phase of growth. We are thrilled with what the future holds for n2y.”
n2y’s innovative solutions continue to have a profound impact on the lives of unique learners and their support networks,”
said David Phillips, Senior Managing Director and William Hughes, Managing Director at Providence Equity Partners. “We are excited to partner with Five Arrows to continue to support the tremendous team at n2y in its commitment to transforming special education.”
Robert W. Baird & Co. served as financial advisor to n2y with Weil, Gotshal & Manges acting as legal advisor on the transaction. Five Arrows was advised by William Blair and Rothschild & Co., with Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and Shoosmiths serving as legal advisors.
ABOUT N2Y
n2y is changing the lives of special education administrators and teachers, therapists and paraprofessionals, and all the students they serve. Its award winning solutions are designed specifically to address the needs of the whole child and help unique learners meet their state’s standards. Multiple integrated, evidence‑ and research‑based solutions empower educators to teach and students to achieve. Differentiated, standards based academic instruction, enhanced by proactive behavior management, combines with collaborative IEP development to support learning for every student. For more information on these solutions, please visit n2y.com.
ABOUT FIVE ARROWS
Five Arrows is the alternative assets arm of Rothschild & Co and has €23 billion AuM with offices in Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Luxembourg. With over €9 billion of assets under management, the corporate private equity business of Five Arrows is focused on investing in companies with highly defensible market positions; strong management teams; business models with high visibility of organic unit volume growth and strong unit economics; and multiple operational levers that can be used to unlock latent value. Sectors are limited to data and software, technology‑enabled business services and healthcare. For more information, please visit www.rothschildandco.com/en/merchant-banking/corporate-private-equity
ABOUT PROVIDENCE EQUITY
Providence Equity Partners is a specialist private equity investment firm focused on growth‑oriented media, communications, education and technology companies across North America and Europe. Providence combines its partnership approach to investing with deep industry expertise to help management teams build exceptional businesses and generate attractive returns. Since its founding in 1989, Providence has invested over $35 billion across more than 170 private equity portfolio companies. With its headquarters in Providence, RI, the firm also has offices in New York, London, Boston and Atlanta. For more information, please visit www.provequity.com.
