Goodwin has advised Aspire Education (“Aspire Education”), a portfolio company of EMZ Partners (“EMZ”) on the financing for the add-on acquisition of five WEKA Group companies in Switzerland and Germany (“WEKA Education”). The combination creates a leading educational group with a focus on adult education in the DACH region.
Aspire Education was founded in 2014 and is one of the major private players in the education sector, with activities in the B2P as well as the B2B/B2C market in Austria and Germany. Aspire Education operates more than 80 locations in Austria and Germany and employs approximately 1,200 people. The educational offering includes career guidance and job application coaching, IT training, specialist seminars for experts, and student exchange programs. In recent years, the group has consistently increased its level of digitalization and offers both online and in face-to-face/hybrid educational sessions.
WEKA Education consists of five media and professional education companies with locations in Switzerland and Germany and strong focus on B2B trainings. The companies’ offerings range from one-day seminars and congresses to certified training courses leading to recognized diplomas. All companies are among the leading institutes in their respective target groups and cover education needs in corporate compliance, human resources and other corporate administration functions as well as management and leadership skills.EMZ is a leading European investment company with offices in Paris and Munich. The company focuses on small and medium-sized companies and offers flexible capital solutions in close partnership with founders, family shareholders and managers. EMZ is majority owned by its own employees and has a base of European institutional investors. The current fund has a volume of more than 1.3 billion euros, with investment sizes ranging from 10 to 200 million euros.
EMZ is a leading European investment firm, acting as a true partner to medium-sized companies. The focus of EMZ’ activities lies on investments alongside founders, family shareholders and managers. The core of the EMZ philosophy is a significant reinvestment of the management team in order to create an aligned shareholder partnership. EMZ is majority-owned by its own employees and has a base of European institutional investors.
Goodwin has already supported EMZ on the initial financing for the acquisition of Aspire.
The Goodwin team was led by partner Winfried M. Carli (Private Equity/Finance, Munich) and counsel Andreas Breu (Private Equity/Finance, Frankfurt) and included senior transaction lawyer Anna Zoth (Finance/Private Equity, Munich).