IK Investment Partners’ (IK) IK Small Cap I Fund, alongside founders Maxime Aiach, Philippe Coléon and José Dinis, has acquired Domia Group (Domia), owner of French private tutoring market specialist Acadomia and French home cleaning provider Shiva, from Metric Capital Partners.
Acadomia is the leading player in the primary, secondary, higher-education and test-prep tutoring markets (at-home, centres and online). Since 1989, Acadomia and its employees have continuously innovated to offer quality learning experiences to more than 1 million families across different geographies, backgrounds, subjects and learning needs. Acadomia now operates a network of 100 agencies and 20,000 tutors dedicated to help over 90,000 students per year meet their academic goals and enhance their educational life. Acadomia is recognised for its unrivalled brand awareness, its customer-satisfaction ratings and the proven academic success of its students.
Shiva is one of the leading and the fastest-growing actors in the home cleaning market. Through its network of 165 franchised agencies, Shiva helps its 45,000-strong client-base to improve their quality of life by taking care of their house cleaning on a regular basis thanks to a unique network of 8,000 selected, trained and highly-experienced maids. Shiva is contributing to transform the highly fragmented home cleaning market by delivering a high-quality hassle-free interior experience.
Aiach, President, says: “Philippe, José and I are excited to embark upon the next stage of our growth story with IK by our side. Their expertise and proven track record in growing businesses combined with the dedication of our talented team of professionals will allow us to strengthen our leading market position.”
Dinis adds: “Thanks to the support of Metric and Domia Group’s teams and franchisees, the company has been able to achieve remarkable growth over the last five years while delivering enriching new services and experiences to Acadomia’s students and tutors and Shiva’s clients and maids. The Fund’s investment into Domia paves the way for new ambitions.”
Coléon says: “Acadomia’s challenge for the next few years is to go on promoting and democratising ever-more personalised and tailored learning while still being recognised by our clients and tutors as the most innovative, academic-success-oriented and agile company in the industry.”
Pierre Gallix, Partner at IK, says: “We were impressed with the track record Domia has achieved since its inception. Acadomia has established an enviable and unique position within the French tutoring market by delivering students the best and most innovative solutions and programs. As far as Shiva is concerned, IK will continue to expand its footprint across France. We look forward to working closely with the Founders to support the continued growth of these two exciting brands.”
John Sinik, Managing Partner at Metric, says: “This exit follows our investment in May 2013 and reflects our direct involvement in supporting our portfolio companies to strengthen their operations. We have greatly enjoyed working with the Founders and their teams to grow the business and are extremely pleased with our investment in Domia.”
David Scheurl, Partner at Metric, adds: “At the time of our investment, we were attracted to the strength of Domia’s brands and business model. During the life of our investment, Domia Group has consistently achieved impressive growth rates, creating a successful exit path for Metric. We wish the company, its teams and IK all the best in their next chapter of growth.”
Unitranche facility for the transaction was provided by Tikehau Investment Management.
