PEARSON (ITALY & GERMANY) acquired by SANOMA CORPORATION
Context
Sanoma acquired Pearson's local K12 learning content businesses in Italy and Germany. This landmark transaction marks Sanoma's entry into the Italian K12 market—one of Europe's largest—and reinforces its position in Germany. The deal was financed through a 4-year term loan facility. Sanoma committed to an additional EUR10 million investment over three years to accelerate the digitalization of the Italian secondary education segment, leveraging its existing pan-European digital platforms.
PEARSON (ITALY & GERMANY), which reported an EBITDA margin of LOGIN in 2024, is valued in this transaction at an EV/EBITDA multiple of LOGIN, representing a LOGIN to the average currently observed in the Retail & Consumer sector (11.0x).
Note that this data is based on contribution from our growing community, composed of M&A and Private Equity professionals, and has been verified by our team to ensure its accuracy.
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Target
Pearson Italy & Germany is a top provider of K12 learning materials, with a particularly strong presence in lower and upper secondary education (80% of sales). It holds market-leading positions in subjects like philosophy and literature. Combined, the businesses serve millions of students with a blend of reputable printed materials and evolving digital tools. At the time of the deal, they employed 251 people.
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Historical Financials (EUR)
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REFERENCES
Valuation range: EV 100M - 350M EUR
Revenue range: 100M - 200M EUR
EBITDA range: 25M - 50M EUR
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Authors: verified mynth contributor (mynth data is contributed by M&A / PE professionals and systematically cross-verified with private deal documents and official press releases).