Investors line up to make bids for Learning Pool

Two bids have been tabled by private equity firms for Derry-based e-learning company Learning Pool, reports claim.

The company, which is on the market for an estimated €160 million, has received first round bids from Bowmark Capital and ECI Partners, according to EducationInvestor Global, an industry publication that first reported on the sale of Learning Pool.

Carlyle Cardinal Ireland, the €300 million fund co-managed by the Carlyle Group and Irish asset manager Cardinal Capital, acquired a controlling stake in Learning Pool in 2016, and is now looking to make good on its initial £20 million (€23.2 million) investment. The deadline for first round bids was Monday last.

Founded by Paul McElvaney in 2006, Learning Pool has more than 1,100 customers and claims over five million “active learners” globally.

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Employing about 200 people, the company's clients include the National Health Service, Centerparcs, Unicef, Ofcom and Dell.

The e-learning company has been in expansion mode since receiving investment from Carlyle Cardinal with a number of acquisitions in recent years, including Remote Learner, a US-headquartered learning management system provider, which it acquired late last year.

Learning Pool recorded revenues of £18.1 million for the 12 months ending April 2020, up 32 per cent on the prior year, with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) of £5 million.

It said last August that it expected to continue to grow on the back of a rise in demand for online learning resulting from the Covid crisis.

The value and terms of the offers filed by Bowmark Capital and ECI Partners are unknown at this point.