McDermott advises Goldman Sachs on financing sale of edtech player Texthelp

McDermott Will & Emery has advised Goldman Sachs Private Capital, as underwriter, on financing the acquisition of edtech business Texthelp by Five Arrows Principal Investments (FAPI).

The sale comes two months after Texthelp received a ‘significant investment’ from FAPI and its US counterpart Five Arrows Capital Partners (FACP). Together they are known as Five Arrows.

McDermott’s London-based financial team was led by partner Aymen Mahmoud and included associate Nicholas Jupp and trainee Ryan Clarke.

“This acquisition represents a continuing market trend of private equity bringing its financial and operating expertise to strong technology platforms to foster growth and advancement,” Mahmoud told the Robotics Law Journal, adding that, “we can expect this trend to continue.”

Five Arrows targets investments in B2B data and software companies across healthcare, education and other vertical end-markets, making it a logical home for Texthelp. The business develops software for corporates and the education sector intended to help those with reading, writing and numeracy difficulties including dyslexia. Current customers include some of the largest school districts in North America and Australia, as well as schools and businesses across the UK and Middle East.

Last year, a McDermott team again led by Mahmoud advised Golub Capital on the financing in connection with Five Arrows’ acquisition of Juvare, a critical incident preparedness and response software provider.

London-based Axis Arbor Partners acted as debt advisor to FAPI.

Texthelp could not be reached for comment.