PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Carnegie Learning, Inc. (“the Company”), a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) for education and formative assessment, announced today that it has received a strategic growth investment from funds affiliated with Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC (“MDP”), a leading private equity firm based in Chicago. Under the terms of the agreement, the funds affiliated with MDP (the “MDP Funds”) have acquired a majority stake in Carnegie Learning from CIP Capital, a New York-based private equity firm, which initially invested in Carnegie Learning in 2018. CIP will retain a significant ownership position in Carnegie Learning alongside certain members of the Company’s management team. CIP and Carnegie Learning’s management team, together with MDP, will seek to extend Carnegie Learning’s leadership position in K-12 personalized learning and coaching software, assessments, curriculum and professional learning solutions.
Consistent with this strategic plan, with the support of the MDP Funds, Carnegie Learning announced in September the acquisition of Scientific Learning Corporation (“Scientific Learning”) in its efforts to further strengthen its educational product platform. Scientific Learning is a leading evidence-based online reading and language software provider that offers Fast ForWord® software, which is a remote-ready language and cognitive enhancement program developed by neuroscientists that accelerates learning and reading. Carnegie Learning and Scientific Learning share a foundation in research-based approaches to solving the toughest challenges in education. More information about this acquisition announcement can be found here.
Barry Malkin, CEO of Carnegie Learning, said, “We are excited to partner with MDP as we work together to support students and educators in this dynamic, rapidly evolving learning environment. We expect to benefit from MDP’s extensive resource network in the education technology space and expertise supporting high-growth technology companies like ourselves. Our ability to provide sophisticated, flexible digital solutions, and help administrators and educators ensure the success of their students, is further enhanced by adding Scientific Learning and its powerful reading platform to our suite of solutions.”
Carnegie Learning leverages AI-driven and research-based adaptive learning capabilities to power software that complements its digital and printed instructional materials, which span math, English language arts and world languages. The Company’s blended offering of digital and print solutions is attractive to school districts across the country as they continue to recognize the value that flexible online learning provides. Carnegie Learning also recently launched MATHiaFlex, a brand new supplemental software experience that gives educators the flexibility to customize a student’s learning path on an individual basis, coaching and adapting to each of their unique needs.
Matthew Norton, a Managing Director at MDP and Head of the firm’s Business & Government Software and Services team, said, “We are delighted to support Carnegie Learning in continuing to develop technology solutions that significantly improve learning outcomes for students and provide them with the skills they need to succeed. We believe the Company is well positioned for long-term growth as it continues to meet the increasing demand for online learning.”
Daniel Schwartz, a Principal at CIP Capital, said, “We look forward to continuing to work with Carnegie Learning management and partnering with MDP to support additional investments in new products, services and research that will allow Carnegie Learning to build on its proven track record of serving educators and students nationwide at a time when it is needed more than ever.”
Macquarie Capital served as Carnegie Learning’s financial advisor, and Willkie Farr & Gallagher provided legal counsel to Carnegie Learning. William Blair & Company served as MDP’s financial advisor, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal counsel to MDP.
ABOUT CARNEGIE LEARNING, INC.
Carnegie Learning is the leader in artificial intelligence in education and formative assessment. Born from more than 20 years of learning science research at Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Learning delivers powerful math, ELA and world language blended learning solutions, the award-winning MATHia® platform for grades 6-12, project-based digital solutions for computer science, and best-in-class K-12 professional learning services. For more information please visit: www.carnegielearning.com.
ABOUT MADISON DEARBORN PARTNERS
Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC ("MDP") is a leading private equity investment firm based in Chicago. Since MDP’s formation in 1992, the firm has raised aggregate capital of over $26 billion and has completed over 140 investments. MDP invests across five dedicated industry verticals, including business and government software and services; basic industries; financial and transaction services; health care; and telecom, media and technology services. For more information, please visit www.mdcp.com.
ABOUT CIP CAPITAL
CIP Capital is a New York-based private equity firm focused on investing in growth-oriented, middle- market companies across the Business Information and Technology-Enabled Services sectors in North America. The fund seeks to invest in proven, profitable businesses that provide their customer bases with critical information, data-driven insights, and value-added outsourced services. CIP Capital targets investments in sectors including tech-enabled business services, data-driven marketing services, human capital management and knowledge services. For more information please visit: www.cip-capital.com.
