US firm Wiley buys London-based tech education company Mthree for £98m
London-based tech education firm Mthree has been bought by US multinational John Wiley and Sons, in a deal worth $129m (£98m).
Mthree trains up students and professionals looking to go into technology careers, and boasts a revenue of more than $50m.
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The company was sold by private equity firm ECI.
The acquisition, which closed on New Year’s Day, was described by the buying company as “a win-win-win for the university, the corporation and, most of all, the student”.
“Wiley is committed to bridging the gap between education output and industry need,” said Brian Napack, president and CEO of Wiley.
“The acquisition of mthree advances Wiley’s leadership in powering the high-demand, high-potential careers that are fueling the global knowledge economy.
“CEO Alex Headley and his team have built a great company with extremely high customer and client satisfaction — mthree is putting people in great IT jobs with great companies, and these people are succeeding. We are very pleased to welcome them to the Wiley family.”
Mthree will join Wiley’s education services portfolio of companies.
Todd Zipper, president of Wiley’s education services arm said: “[Mthree] effectively eliminates the friction that exists in the labor market when students leave higher education and try to enter the workforce and, in doing so, they create a win-win-win for the university, the corporation and, most of all, the student.”
In 2020, there will be more than 1.8m unfilled computer-related job opportunities in the US, Europe and the Middle East.
However, for the same area there will be only 100,000 computer science grads, the companies said, making technology among the most in-demand disciplines for students, professionals, universities and corporations.
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“The last five years have seen tremendous growth for Mthree. We have been on a journey from a start-up to a global corporation that includes partnerships with the world’s largest banks and disruptive tech businesses,” said Alex Headley, founder of Mthree.
“Wiley will enable Mthree’s strategic growth plans to be realised, helping more graduates navigate the changing world of work and our clients grow their businesses with the right talent.”