IK Investment Partners (IK), a pan-European private equity firm, has acquired a minority stake in private higher education specialist Groupe EDH (GEDH), which controlled by Quilvest Capital Partners and Amin Khiari. A pioneer in the field of communication (EFAP), cultural management (ICART) and journalism (EFJ), GEDH, which has been managed by Amin Khiari since 2014, secured investment from Quilvest in 2017 to support its growth plan and in particular its external growth operations. GEDH has since completed the acquisitions of the Brassart and Aries schools, both specialised in the field of digital creation, and now combined under the BRASSART brand with a presence in 13 cities in France. More recently, the Spanish communication and design university CESINE, based in Santander joined the Group.
“Our Group has undergone a significant development phase over the past five years through a combination of organic growth, geographic expansion and external growth, increasing from 2,000 to nearly 7,000 students, from three to five schools and from five to twenty campuses. We are proud of these results, rewarding a continuous improvement strategy of both our programs and educational methods to offer an ever better service and professional insertion to our students. The investment from IK will provide us with the necessary resources to pursue a next phase of growth in the coming years, in keeping with the identity and values of our schools,” says Khiari.
IK’ investment will allow the Group to keep up with the financing requirements in its existing schools and through their geographic roll-out, as well as for the acquisition and integration of new campuses in France and abroad, strengthening the position of GEDH as a leader in private higher education in France.
“We are delighted that the management of GEDH and Quilvest have decided to place their trust in us and to be able to contribute to the wider development of these schools. Our approach is based on a clear ambition : to build a champion in higher education in the fields of communication, culture and creation, in France and abroad,” adds Thomas Grob, Partner at IK Investment Partners.
“We are familiar with the professionalism and quality of IK Investment Partners’ team and we look forward to building this new team alongside the management of Groupe EDH and continue the fantastic development that we have experienced for several years,” says Thomas Vatier, Partner at Quilvest Capital Partners.
