Vienna-based GoStudent, an online platform that connects students to teachers in a virtual learning environment, announced on Friday that it has acquired Germany-based Studienkreis, a company that offers centre-based tutoring in the DACH region.
Studienkreis was acquired by London-based private equity firm IK Partners in November 2017. IK Partners focuses on investments in the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics, and the UK.
Nils Pohlmann, Partner at IK, says, “It has been a pleasure working with Lorenz and his team at Studienkreis. Education and people are the essence of our modern society and Studienkreis and GoStudent are leading players for tutoring services. We wish them the very best for their joint journey.”
Studienkreis – Everything you need to know
Founded in 1974, Studienkreis claims to be a renowned tutoring provider in Germany with more than 1,000 learning centres nationwide. The firm’s goal is to create a mixed learning environment by integrating offline tuition with online resources as well as custom-built digital technologies.
Serving 125,000 families annually in the DACH area, Studienkreis has been a leader in online education since 2012. After acquiring LernQuadrat in 2018, Studienkreis, which has been under the control of IK Partners since 2017, expanded into Austria and strengthened its position in the DACH region by raising brand awareness and offering “high-quality” tutoring services.
Speaking about the acquisition, Lorenz Haase, CEO of Studienkreis, says, “Since our first meeting, it was clear the two companies shared a passion and belief that the future of learning is hybrid, and we believe technology is key to enabling that. GoStudent’s position in the online world, together with our strong brand and physical position in Germany, will create a blueprint for building individual, dynamic learning paths so each student can not only improve their grades but unlock their full potential. We are very excited to be part of this next phase of growth.”
After the completion of the deal, Studienkreis will continue to operate independently under its current leadership team while the two companies aim to identify synergies over time.
Aim of the acquisition
With this deal, GoStudent aims to combine the best of both worlds – online and offline, and to give people access to quality education through technology.
GoStudent acquired a number of important companies over the last 12 months, including Seneca Learning from the UK, Tus Media Group from Spain, and Fox Education from Austria. Through these acquisitions, the company says it was able to diversify into AI-based educational material, enhance and expand tutor accessibility and the addressable market, as well as provide communication tools for families, schools, and tutors.
With the addition of Studienkreis, GoStudent is now able to cater to families that prefer group lessons or centre-based classes.
Felix Ohswald, CEO and co-founder of GoStudent, says, “Over 1.5 million online tutoring sessions are booked each month at GoStudent, but we believe the future of learning is hybrid. Combining online and offline creates an omnichannel model which brings maximum value to families and builds a barrier for competitors.”
“With today’s announcement, GoStudent now offers a full spectrum of learning solutions for every type of student and budget. In addition to our core, 1:1, online tutoring, we offer everything from freemium products to group classes. It’s this winning combination that will fuel our future growth while at the same time boosting profitability,” adds Ohswald.
About GoStudent
Founded in 2016 by Felix Ohswald and Gregor Müller, GoStudent aims to help students reach their full potential and replace traditional tutoring through online teaching. The startup offers a digital learning platform for online teaching and paid individual courses for all school subjects.
GoStudent’s platform uses a membership model and provides paid, one-on-one, video-based tuition to primary, secondary, and college-aged students in more than 30 subjects. Currently, the platform employs 1,600 people and works with over 23,000 self-employed tutors. The company serves customers in 20 countries and over 1.5 million tutoring sessions are booked each month.
GoStudent claims to be one of the world-leading online tutoring agents and, with a €3B valuation, Europe’s highest-valued edtech company.
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