MONTEREY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Excelligence Learning Corporation, a leading provider of educational tools and solutions to early childhood and elementary school teachers and parents, has acquired ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI). CCEI, headquartered in Duluth, Ga., is a leading provider of online professional development and data systems for the early child care and education market. CCEI represents a key addition to Excelligence’s Services division, which is focused on providing high value services to early childhood learning centers, elementary schools and PTAs.
Excelligence’s vision is to become the world’s most preferred provider of educational tools and solutions to early childhood and elementary teachers and parents. This is achieved through a commitment to its mission – to provide teachers and parents with the BEST brands at the BEST prices with the BEST service. Headquartered in Monterey, Calif., Excelligence serves its vision and mission through three main divisions: Supplies, Equipment, and Services.
Dipak Golechha, President & COO, noted, “Growing our presence in the services sector of the early care and education industry is a key strategic priority for Excelligence. We’re delighted to bring an industry leader into the Excelligence family and to the customers that rely on us to deliver the best solutions to meet their needs.”
CCEI is led by CEO Maria Taylor, who will continue to lead the business going forward. Commenting on the transaction, Taylor said, “CCEI is excited to be a part of the Excelligence family. For the past 12 years, CCEI has provided educators with quality professional development and database systems. We look forward to continuing this commitment with a partner who shares our vision of quality and service.”
This continues an active period of acquisitions for Excelligence, having added Really Good Stuff and Children’s Factory to its portfolio of brands in 2016. In December of 2014, Brentwood Associates, a leading consumer-focused private equity investment firm, and its affiliates, acquired a majority stake in Excelligence.
Eric Reiter, a partner at Brentwood Associates, commented, “We look forward to working with Maria and her leadership team to build upon their impressive success and the sterling reputation they have established within the professional development and education market. We expect the resources available within the Excelligence platform will facilitate investments in product development and marketing, allowing CCEI to further grow its base of highly satisfied customers.”
CCEI was advised by Parchman, Vaughan & Company, LLC and represented by Taylor English Duma LLP. Excelligence was advised by Tyton Partners and represented by Burr & Forman LLP and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.
About ChildCare Education Institute
ChildCare Education Institute provides high-quality, online professional development and training and education certificates to the early childhood market. CCEI offers its programs across an array of early childhood settings, including preschool centers, family child care, prekindergarten classrooms, nanny care, online daycare training and more. Over 100 English and Spanish early childhood training courses are available online to meet licensing, recognition program, and Head Start Requirements. CCEI also has online certification programs that provide the coursework requirement for national credentials including the CDA, Director and Early Childhood Credentials. CCEI is nationally accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), has been accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), and is authorized under the Nonpublic Postsecondary Educational Institutions Act of 1990. For more information about CCEI, please visit www.cceionline.edu.
About Excelligence Learning Corporation
Excelligence Learning Corporation is a leading developer, manufacturer, distributor, and multi-channel retailer of over 20,000 innovative, high-quality and grade-appropriate educational products and teaching solutions, which are sold primarily to early childhood learning centers, elementary schools, PTAs, and consumers. The company has three core divisions: Supplies (Discount School Supply, Really Good Stuff, SmarterKids, and Environments), Equipment (Children’s Factory, Angeles and Steffy Wood Products), and Services (Educational Products, Inc.). With over 30 years of experience serving children, educators and parents, Excelligence’s diversified portfolio of leading brands delivers quality, innovation, service and value on a global scale. Leading proprietary brands include: Colorations, BioColor, and Excellerations. For more information about Excelligence, please visit www.excelligence.com.
See more at: www.discountschoolsupply.com, www.reallygoodstuff.com, www.environments.com, www.childrensfactory.com, www.angelesstore.com, www.educationalproducts.com.
About Brentwood Associates
Brentwood Associates is a leading consumer-focused private equity investment firm with a 30-year history of investing in leading middle-market growth companies. Brentwood focuses on investments in growing businesses where it is able to leverage its extensive experience in areas such as: branded consumer products; multi-location strategies; direct-to-customer marketing, including direct mail and e-commerce; niche brands with specialty distribution; education; and business services. Since 1984, Brentwood’s dedicated private equity team has invested in 50 portfolio companies with an aggregate transaction value of over $6 billion. With significant experience in both investing and brand building, Brentwood is a value-added partner with entrepreneurs and senior management teams building world-class companies. For more information about Brentwood, please visit www.brentwood.com.