Money Moves: EVERFI’s higher ed business was acquired by Vector Solutions for $100M

As we reported last week, DC had a huge second quarter for VC funding, with $1.27 billion raised overall across 72 deals. This quarter, investors are staying on trend and dropping $$ like it’s hot (and not just because it’s swamp summer). Here’s the latest on money moving around in the DMV.

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EVERFI was involved in a deal announced Wednesday that netted a nine-figure sum for the company. The West End edtech company’s higher education business was acquired by Florida’s Vector Solutions for $100 million, the companies said.

Included in the acquisition are EVERFI’s online training programs for higher education colleges and universities, and its Campus Prevention Network. Following the acquisition, EVERFI will continue on with its Software as a Service platform for K-12 learners for both consumers and in employee environments. In the coming year, the company said it anticipates reaching over 7.5 million learners.

“The impact of the combined business means that we can ensure even more campus communities are healthy and safe,” EVERFI’s CEO and founder Tom Davidson said in a statement. “Together, we establish the definitive higher education market leader, delivering best-in-class data-driven digital programs for students, faculty and staff nationwide.”

Just last year, the company pledged $100 million through a three-year commitment into addressing systemic social justice and economic disparities topics in its courses.

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DC blank-check organization Galata Acquisition raised $125 million in its initial public offering earlier this month. Shares were priced at $10.00 each.

Following the IPO, the company is now trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol GLTA.U. Also known as a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), Galata plans to acquire fintech service businesses in emerging markets and take them public. Galata was cofounded by an affiliated fund of DC’s Callaway Capital Management and Boston’s Weiss Asset Management LP.

“Segments we might explore include, but are not limited to, insurance, reinsurance and insurance services, asset management, retail or investment banking and merchant acquisition and payment processing,” Galata’s filing reads.

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Downtown D.C.’s Anzu Partners, an investment firm with an eye towards industrial technology and life sciences, launched its third venture fund with $130 million committed.

The fund, known as Anzu’s Fund III, will back early-stage startups in high-growth sectors that are “essential to prosperity, productivity and sustainability.” Investors in the fund include public and private companies, single and multifamily offices as well as prominent individuals in the US and outside. Anzu is targeting $300 million in investments overall.

“Innovations in life sciences and industrial technologies continue to proliferate since the launch of our first two funds, and we see an even greater opportunity to work with early-stage companies and commercialize their scientific breakthroughs,” said David Michael, managing partner at Anzu in a statement. “Not only do we provide capital, we also utilize our technically-oriented team of investment and operational professionals to offer support on financial management, operations, talent development, global connectivity, strategy and more, to truly serve as a partner.”

This is the organization’s third fund since 2017, with $128 million invested that year and $190 million in 2020. The 50-person company also hosts a $425 million SPAC and a portfolio of over 25 companies.

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 In a deal valued at approximately $394 million, Columbia, Maryland’s GP Strategies was acquired by London’s Learning Technologies Group.

The Maryland company offers professional training and support for performance improvement. According to advisor DLA Piper, Learning Technologies paid $20.85 per share in cash, resulting in the $394 million, with the deal expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. GP, which was founded in 1959, completed over 20 acquisitions in it’s 60-year run, Tech.eu reported.

Adam Stedham, CEO at GP, said that together, the companies can offer a more holistic approach to workplace innovation globally.

“This transaction represents a tremendous opportunity for our customers and our talented employees to work with the global leader in workplace talent and learning, while providing our shareholders with a meaningful premium to our existing stock price,” said Stedham in a statement. “This combination not only accelerates our growth strategy, but it will also bolster GP Strategies’ best-in-class platform with complementary products and specialist services to drive successful and meaningful workforce transformation for our clients.”

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Some other deals closing in DC:

• Content-filtering company DNSFilter, which is headquartered on G Street, raised $30 million in a Series A round led by Insight Partners.
• Charlottesville biopharm company Rivus Pharmaceuticals, which focuses on cardio health, raised a $35 million Series A to develop “controlled metabolic accelerators.”
• The Economic Innovation Group received a $500,093 grant from the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to study poverty across the US as part of its Advancing Economic Development in Persistently Poor Communities initiative. A final reported is expected to be published in 2022.
• Arlington’s Motley Fool Ventures led a $10 million round for New York-based fintech company Esusu.
• Cell engineering company MaxCyte, based in Gaithersburg, Md, filed for a $100 million IPO. The company is backed by Casdin Capital and Sofinnova and currently trades on London’s AIM market.