Fri, 06 Aug 2021 | BUSINESS SALE
Tech investment firm Tenzing has sold Leeds-based educational safeguarding technology company to Australian-based Family Zone for £75.5 million. The sale represents a 5.6x return on Tenzing’s invested capital, as well as a 56 per cent Internal Rate of Return.
Tenzing initially invested in Smoothwall in 2017 and has since supported its organic and acquisitive growth. The company, which provides dedicated safeguarding technology solutions in education, is used by over 12,400 schools and around six million students in the UK and US.
The company’s acquisitive growth has been supported by a Tenzing dedicated acquisitions director, helping the firm make numerous acquisitions. Most recently, Smoothwall acquired fellow educational monitoring technology firm eSafe Global Limited.
With Tenzing’s support, Smoothwall has also revamped its business operations, grown its product suite on a Cloud infrastructure and introduced new safeguarding tools.
Tenzing co-founder and managing partner Guy Gillon said that the firm was “proud to have completed our second exit and honoured to have played a part in Smoothwall’s growth”.
Smoothwall CEO Georg Ell said: "We've hugely benefited from the injection of investment, energy and expertise from Tenzing over the last four years; there has always been a real sense of backing us as a team. Their support has enabled us to expand the solutions we offer to our clients, and it makes me incredibly proud that, under Tenzing's ownership, Smoothwall has grown to protect more than six million children.”
Family Zone MD Tim Levy added: "We're delighted to be partnering with Smoothwall. Our organisations share core values around keeping children safe, and our complementary platforms and culture create a unique and remarkable opportunity for synergies and growth on a global stage."
Read more about how Covid-19 and the rise of remote learning are spurring M&A activity in the educational technology sector in this exclusive insight.
Find businesses for sale here.
If you are looking for an exit, we can help!
The e-commerce retailer that sells goods imported from China and India through eBay and Amazon. Following a change in circumstances, the owner is now seeking to sell the business and retire. The business sells a wide range of imported products throug...
LEASEHOLD
Highly profitable and fast growing business in the home décor segment. Strategic acquisition for a synergy buyer. Staff in place if required or would be suitable for relocation. Lots of opportunities for expansion. Turnover increase YoY 2020-2021 was...
LEASEHOLD
Based in the West Midlands, they provides above ground plumbing and heating installation services for national and regional house builders, with the capability to carry out works on large domestic housing projects comprising hundreds of newly-built d...
LEASEHOLD
24
|
Jun
|
E-commerce imports retailer up for sale for £1.6m | BUSINESS SALE
Deals Incorporated, a Manchester-based e-commerce retailer t...
23
|
Jun
|
Auto Trader completes acquisition of Autorama at nearly 16x gross profits | BUSINESS SALE
Auto Trader has completed the acquisition of new vehicle lea...
22
|
Jun
|
Acquisitive ESG consultancy set to be sold | BUSINESS SALE
An acquisitive environmental and sustainability consultancy ...
Sign up to receive our acquisition alert emails to get your FREE guide
23
|
Jun
|
Tenzing-backed Smoothwall acquires EdTech monitoring firm | BUSINESS SALE
Smoothwall, a Leeds-based safeguarding tech firm backed by T...
04
|
Feb
|
Broadcast publisher MBI completes MBO | MBO/MBI
The publisher of Broadcast, Media Business Insight (MBI) has...
Business Sale Report is your complete solution to finding great acquisition opportunities.
Join today to receive:
All this and much more, including the latest M&A news and exclusive resources