Ellucian, a leading provider of tertiary education technology solutions, has announced an agreement to acquire Tribal Group plc (“Tribal”), a UK-based enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) and customer relationship management (“CRM”) software and services provider to the education sector. The all-cash offer values Tribal’s entire issued, and to be given, ordinary share capital at approximately £159 million on a fully diluted basis and implies an enterprise value of £172 million. The offer is unanimously recommended by the Board of Tribal and is pending regulatory approvals and approval from Tribal shareholders.
With this deal, Ellucian will enhance and expand its global product capabilities, leading to a broader set of modern technology solutions that enable institutions to deliver an exceptional student experience. Furthermore, the merger will allow Ellucian to provide better products and support across continents while extending the company’s customer base.
Commenting on the acquisition, Chief Executive Officer of Ellucian, Laura Ipsen, said:
Tribal is in precise alignment with Ellucian’s strategy, purpose, and values, and this is an exciting opportunity to expand our combined reach as we power tertiary education so institutions can empower student success. We recognize Tribal’s notable transformation journey to the cloud and are eager to work with Tribal’s strong leadership and talented team. This investment can accelerate our impact in significant and essential educational markets worldwide.
Ellucian has worked with higher education institutions worldwide for over 50 years to deliver solutions to their most challenging problems and help them become more agile, scalable, and efficient. The company collaborates with over 2,900 customers in 50 countries, serving 22 million students. The platform has best-in-class SaaS capabilities and delivers insights needed today and in the future, fueled by decades of experience and a concentrated focus on the unique demands of learning institutions. Its innovative solutions, the wide ecosystem of partners, and the user community of over 45,000 deliver best practices that contribute to higher institutional success and improved student results.
Richard Last, the Chairman of Tribal Group plc, added:
Joining Ellucian will create an enhanced platform which will leverage the strengths of both businesses across the complementary geographies in which Tribal and Ellucian operate for the benefit of our customers, enabling the provision of a broader set of solutions. I believe the combined group will also provide opportunities for our employees to play a significant role in delivering value for our customers.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch served as lead financial advisor, and RBC Capital Markets, LLC also served as financial advisor to Ellucian. Kirkland & Ellis International LLP and Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider served as legal advisors to Ellucian.
William Blair International, Limited served as financial advisor to Tribal, and Taylor Wessing served as legal advisor to Tribal.
Tribal provides a broad range of education services covering quality assurance, peer review, benchmarking and improvement, and student surveys that provide the leading global benchmarks for student experience. Working with tertiary education schools, Government and State bodies, training providers and employers, in over 55 countries, the company’s mission is to empower the world of education with products and services that underpin student success.
