A Sharonville-based ed tech company is being sold in two separate transactions for a combined $410 million – a blockbuster acquisition that stands as the third-largest deal in the Greater Cincinnati market since March 2020.
Hobsons, which provides platforms for college and career readiness, announced late Thursday a pair of definitive agreements that would sell three of its business units in two separate transactions.
California’s PowerSchool, the largest ed tech provider in North America, will acquire the company's Naviance and Intersect businesses. And Starfish, another Hobsons product, is being spun-out from the rest of company following an internal restructuring and will be sold to EAB, an education company headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Company officials did not disclose the value of the deals, but London-based Daily Mail and General Trust, which owns Hobsons, valued the Naviance and Intersect transaction at $320 million. The EAB sale is worth approximately $90 million, according to the report.
Both transactions are subject to customary closing conditions. Company officials did not provide a timeline. Hobsons CEO Kate Cassino said in a statement the units will continue to operate independently until closing.
Hobsons officials did not return an email and calls for comment as of time of publication.
“This past year has illuminated the important role of educators and technology solutions to support students on their education journey,” Cassino said in a release. “Adding Naviance and Intersect is a continuation of PowerSchool’s commitment to provide technology that helps every student succeed no matter where they’re from and where they’re going.”
PowerSchool, which is backed by private equity firms Vista Equity Partners and Onex Corp., supports over 45 million students in over 80 countries, and has 2,600 employees. The acquisitions, officials said, will allow it to add counseling and recruitment features to its platform.
Naviance, a college and career counseling platform for high school students and school districts to assess student interests and capabilities, is used by 10 million students, according to Hobsons. Intersect, an admissions platform inside Naviance that connects students with a custom and tailored way to navigate college admissions or other opportunities after high school, connects with 1 million students annually.
Being part of the PowerSchool ecosystem will also provide Naviance and Intersect customers improved user experiences, PowerSchool CEO Hardeep Gulati said.
“After high school, every student has their own unique preferences, path, and aspirations for education, career, and life choices,” Gulati said in a release. “By bringing these two solutions into PowerSchool’s unified portfolio, we are focusing on providing tools and insights that can help simplify, guide and provide all the options they need to help with that journey.”
At last count, Hobsons employed 150 at its Sharonville headquarters and more than 700 worldwide – and was hiring. Per EAB, Hobsons’ Starfish employees will join that company when the transaction closes. Scott Schirmeier, EAB’s president of technology, will lead both the EAB and Starfish businesses, per a posting on the company’s website.
At $410 million, the Hobsons acquisition stands as the third largest in the Greater Cincinnati market since AK Steel was acquired for $3 billion in March 2020 and E.W. Scripps purchased Ion Media for $2.65 billion in September 2020.
It also tops several recent deals involving other local private tech companies. Kaleidoscope, a product design and innovation firm, sold to Infosys for $42 million in September. Dotloop, a real estate startup, sold to Zillow for $108 million in 2015.
