Apax Digital Fund to acquire MetaMetrics
The Apax Digital Fund (“ADF”) has today announced a definitive agreement to acquire MetaMetrics, the leading provider of reading and mathematics measurement scales for educational assessments in the United States.
Founded in 1984, MetaMetrics’ Lexile® and Quantile® Frameworks provide objective assessment in reading and mathematics respectively. These frameworks provide comparability of student ability over time and are recognised as the industry-standard in the US. The opportunity is to acquire a uniquely-positioned, marketleading business, and to accelerate growth through new product development and international expansion.
AGA, whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, provides investors with access to the investment expertise of Apax Partners through its investments in a diversified portfolio of private equity funds advised by Apax Partners as well as derived investments in debt and equity. In June 2017, AGA made a commitment of $50m to the Apax Digital Fund.
The Apax Digital Fund to acquire MetaMetrics, developer of the Lexile and Quantile Frameworks
The investment will further the company’s mission to accelerate learning for students by bringing meaning to measurement
New York and Durham, North Carolina, USA: July 30, 2019 – MetaMetrics®, developer of the widely adopted Lexile Framework® for Reading and Quantile Framework® for Mathematics, today announced that the Apax Digital Fund, the technology-focused growth equity fund advised by global private equity advisory firm Apax Partners, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the company from Pamlico Capital. The transaction is expected to complete in September 2019, subject to regulatory approval. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Founded in 1984 and based in the Research Triangle in North Carolina, MetaMetrics is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve educational outcomes. MetaMetrics provides universal measures of reading and math skills achievement through the Lexile® and Quantile® frameworks. The frameworks place both the student and instructional material on the same scale to match the learner with reading and math resources at each student’s ability level. When students receive Lexile and Quantile measures, their test scores become more actionable, allowing teachers and parents to link assessment to instruction. MetaMetrics’ partners include leading providers of educational technology and assessment solutions, state departments of education and publishers who incorporate MetaMetrics’ scales in their products. More than 35 million students receive a Lexile measure each year.
Leveraging Apax’s experience in education, data and analytics, and software, the Apax Digital team will support MetaMetrics in delivering increased value to students, educators and the company’s partners, in particular through new product development and international expansion.
Malbert Smith III, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of MetaMetrics said, “Apax Digital is the ideal partner for MetaMetrics as we continue to deepen our value proposition for students, teachers, parents and partners. Apax’s experience in the education space, its significant operational excellence capabilities, and its global platform will be extremely valuable assets as we grow MetaMetrics in the years ahead. We would also like to thank Pamlico for all its support over the past four years.”
Marcelo Gigliani, managing partner of Apax Digital, said, “Few things are more important than accelerating children’s learning. Malbert and the MetaMetrics team have developed a suite of category-defining measurement scales that support student growth and personalized learning. We look forward to partnering with Malbert and his team to continue to enrich their products and accelerate the company’s international expansion.” Zach Fuchs, vice president of Apax Digital, added, “We look forward to supporting MetaMetrics and share the company’s goal of empowering educators and parents with valuable information to help children build strong literacy skills.”
Scott Stevens, partner of Pamlico Capital, shared, “It’s been a pleasure partnering with Malbert and the entire MetaMetrics team. We appreciate all the hard work put into the business over the last four years with us and we are excited to see what MetaMetrics continues to accomplish with Apax Digital moving forward.”
Raymond James & Associates served as exclusive financial adviser to MetaMetrics in connection with the transaction.
Contact details
Investor enquiries
Sarah Page
IR Manager – AGA
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7666 6573
Email: sarah.page@apax.com
Media enquiries
Andrew Kenny
Head of Communications
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7872 6371
Email: andrew.kenny@apax.com
About Apax Global Alpha Limited
AGA is a Guernsey registered closed-ended collective investment scheme incorporated as a non-cellular company that listed on the London Stock Exchange on 15 June 2015. It is regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.
AGA’s objective is to provide shareholders with capital appreciation from its investment portfolio and regular dividends. The Company is targeting an annualised Total Return, across economic cycles, of 12-15% (net of fees and expenses) including a dividend yield of 5% of Net Asset Value.
The investment policy of the Company is to make Private Equity investments in Apax Funds, and Derived Investments which are investments in equities and debt derived from the insights gained via Apax Partners’ Private Equity activities. The Company’s portfolio is expected to be allocated in approximately equal proportions between Private Equity and Derived Investments, although the investment mix will fluctuate over time due to market conditions, investment opportunities, cash flow requirements, the dividend policy and other factors. Further information regarding the Company and its publications are available on the Company’s website at www.apaxglobalalpha.com.
About Apax Partners LLP
Apax Partners is a leading global private equity advisory firm. Over its more than 40-year history, Apax Partners has raised and advised funds with aggregate commitments of c.€40 billion. Funds advised by Apax Partners invest in companies across four global sectors of Tech & Telco, Services, Healthcare and Consumer. These funds provide long_term equity financing to build and strengthen world_class companies. For further information about Apax Partners, please visit www.apax.com. Apax Partners is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK.