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Part IV: Scaling, Capital, and Rules

Chapter 20

Exits, Private Equity, and Consolidation

In education the exit has usually been a sale to a private-equity firm or a strategic buyer, not an IPO. The 2021 class of listings mostly traded far below its offer prices, while buyout firms built some of the sector's largest and most durable businesses by buying school and university software, consolidating it and holding it through cycles.

The preview ends here. The full chapter is in the book.

In this chapter

  1. 20.1Routes to an exit
  2. 20.2The IPO record
  3. 20.3Strategic acquisitions
  4. 20.4The buyout playbook and its limits
  5. 20.5Distressed exits
  6. 20.6Preparing for an exit