Business Capital delivered $4 million of financing for Asteria Education to acquire ECS Learning Systems, one of the largest family owned test-prep publishers in the state of Texas. Asteria Education, owned by a private equity investor with over 20 years in the education tech space, made the acquisition based on the success of ECS in developing proprietary, integrated materials of state-specific examinations for the K-12 market. Products include a diverse portfolio of test-prep materials and software for reading, writing, mathematics, science and critical thinking skills, as well as hundreds of activity books, workbooks and practice tests both in written and digital format.

“Business Capital was incredibly helpful with our recent acquisition,” said David Cumberbatch, President & CEO of ECS Learning Systems and private equity investor in the acquisition.  “I turned to them after the initial financing structure failed and, within a matter of weeks, they were able to coordinate a rigorous process resulting in successful financing. The Business Capital team was always responsive and highly professional and the Managing Director, Chuck Doyle, remained personally involved and accessible throughout the transaction. Overall, their knowledge and domain expertise shaved months off the process and, most likely, saved the deal.”

The K-12 sector is the largest in the education space and investments in the test taking market are expected to grow at a rapid pace fueled by the standardized testing mandated after the “No Child Left Behind Act” was passed in 2001, as well as the move from physical reading materials to online web-based platforms. Business Capital’s client and PE investor in this transaction is actively pursuing additional acquisition opportunities in this space.