EQT to invest in Compass to accelerate company's innovation and education software solutions

• EQT invests in Compass through the MMG fund

MELBOURNE, Australia, Aug. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Compass (or the "Company"), a leading K-12 vertical SaaS software company, and EQT, a purpose-driven global investment organization, today announced the signing of definitive agreements under which EQT will invest in the Company to support its ongoing growth, product development and innovation.

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, Compass is a full-suite, cloud-based school management platform for the K-12 education market. Compass is today used by more than 3,000 schools and over 4 million parents, teachers, and students, and has recently expanded to provide its innovative education solutions to users in Ireland and the UK. Compass offers a variety of management solutions for individual state schools, private independent schools, enterprise education dioceses and State and Territory education departments.

With EQT's backing, Compass is poised to continue growing in Australia and its key markets at a time when schools are actively modernizing their systems and transitioning to the cloud. Against this backdrop, Compass is well positioned to see even greater adoption of its suite of more than 40 modules and embedded payments offerings.

Group CEO and Founder John de la Motte - who continues as a significant shareholder in the Company – said: "Compass is investing heavily to further develop the platform with a focus on analytics, learning, assessment, and timetabling — each of which are rapidly gaining traction in schools. The partnership with EQT, which brings to Compass its deep expertise supporting education and technology businesses globally, will support us in accelerating growth. We anticipate EQT's support will even better enable Compass to expand internationally, pursue selective M&A opportunities, and accelerate hiring to bring forward some key projects."

EQT's investment in Compass further underscores its commitment to advancing both the global education and technology sectors. To date, EQT has made more than 60 platform investments across these sectors, with an aggregate valuation exceeding USD 65 billion, reflecting its dedication to developing innovative solutions for students, parents, teachers, and the broader technology landscape.

Nicholas Macksey, Partner in the EQT Private Capital Asia advisory team and head of the Mid-Market Growth strategy, said: "Compass is a standout leader in the education software space, and we have been consistently impressed by the company's dedication to supporting meaningful education outcomes and exceptional user experiences for educators and parents. Compass extends EQT's track record of supporting technology solutions that strategically align with our investment themes, enabling us to leverage our deep insights to enhance and drive innovation in key sectors. We look forward to working closely with John and Compass' talented team to accelerate Compass' mission of creating lasting value in the educational field."

EQT invests in Compass through the BPEA EQT Mid-Market Growth Partnership (the "MMG Fund"). EQT's MMG strategy is a natural extension of EQT's established large-cap buyout platform in Asia Pacific, and leverages EQT's pan-Asian presence to implement key initiatives within its portfolio. EQT has been a prolific investor in the software and tech services sector in Asia through its MMG and large-cap strategies, and Compass adds to its portfolio which includes, but is not limited to, Quantios, HRBrain, and WSO2.

As part of the transaction, Advent Partners will exit its investment in Compass, which was initiated six years ago. Robert Radcliffe Smith, Managing Partner at Advent Partners, stated: "It has been incredibly rewarding to be part of Compass' growth journey, expanding from 1,000 schools in Melbourne to 3,000 schools across Australia, the UK, Ireland, and New Zealand. This achievement is a tribute to John and the Compass team for building a business that now has millions of passionate teachers, students, and parents who use the product every day. Compass is now arguably the world's leading SaaS Student Information System."

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. Further details of the transaction are not disclosed.

ContactAlex Beashel, Compass Education, +61 466 308 667, media@compass.education EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com 

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