What are we really buying when we buy an educational institution?
A sector in full consolidation
Private education is going through an unprecedented consolidation cycle. In Spain, education was the second sector by private equity capital invested in 2024, with deals such as Wendel’s entry into Globeducate (around €1 billion), Jacobs Holding’s investment in Ilerna (around €400 million) and EQT’s acquisition of Universidad Europea (over €1.6 billion). In the first half of 2024 alone, deals closed or under way exceeded €2.3 billion, compared with €140 million in the whole of 2023. International funds and education groups are acquiring universities, business schools, vocational training centres and school networks. In Latin America, the large groups maintain an active acquisition agenda.
Behind every deal lies a question that EBITDA multiples cannot answer: whether the educational project is sound, whether its accreditations and enrolment are sustainable, and whether the value that justifies the price will survive integration. That is the ground I work on.
Sources: Capital & Corporate, via Forbes España (Mar 2025, in Spanish) · TTR, via Cinco Días (Jun 2024, in Spanish)
Academic due diligence for buyers
For education groups, investors and networks evaluating the acquisition of a university, business school or school, I analyse what financial due diligence cannot see:
- Soundness of the educational project and real learning quality, beyond marketing indicators.
- Coherence between declared purpose, educational model and the real student experience.
- Faculty and institutional culture: dependence on key people, teaching capacity and openness to change.
- Transformation capacity: what can evolve, at what pace, and with what risks to identity.
Sell-side support for owners of schools and universities
Selling an educational institution means deciding who will have the capacity to shape its future. Preserving is not enough as a criterion: an institution can keep its name and its discourse while losing educational quality, or change profoundly and strengthen its purpose.
I support owners confidentially to answer four questions before the buyer does:
- What are we really transferring? A purpose, capabilities, relationships, a culture and a way of learning.
- What needs continuity and what needs transformation? Telling the essential apart from inherited practices.
- Which buyer can develop that future? Contrasting its strategy with the real needs of the project.
- How will the next stage be built? Governance, community participation, teacher capabilities and monitoring of learning.
Post-merger integration: culture and educational model
Most of the value in an education merger or acquisition is won or lost after signing. An integration that ignores teaching culture, project identity or family trust erodes precisely what was paid for.
I have supported real processes of incorporating institutions into education networks, working on the dimension that decides the outcome: historical roots, identity, mutual recognition, shared purpose and the integration of educational models.
- Reading the cultures and identities that meet: what must be preserved and what can evolve.
- Building a shared “we”: purpose, common language and recognition of each institution’s history.
- Progressive integration of educational models without imposing uniformity or freezing transformation.
Post-acquisition educational transformation
After the deal comes the deeper question: what common architecture will the institutions share, and what will each keep as its own.
I support this phase by connecting purpose, educational model, graduate profile, curriculum, experiences and assessment — the same systemic architecture I use in any transformation process, applied to the specific context of an integration.
How I work
With absolute confidentiality and no conflicts of interest: my work focuses on the educational, cultural and institutional dimension of transactions. For the financial and legal dimensions, I work alongside the specialised advisors each party already has.
I bring what almost a decade inside educational institutions across three continents makes visible: where the real value of an educational project lies, where its risks are, and what it takes for it to survive — and grow — after the deal.
Frequently asked questions
What is academic due diligence in education M&A?
It assesses what financial and legal due diligence cannot see: the soundness of the educational project, the coherence between the declared model and the real student experience, the faculty and institutional culture, the sustainability of accreditation and enrolment, and the institution’s capacity to transform without losing its identity.
Do you advise buyers or sellers?
Both. I support education groups, networks and funds evaluating an acquisition, and owners preparing a sale. In each transaction I work for one party only, to avoid conflicts of interest.
Do you work on mergers between higher education institutions?
Yes, from the educational, cultural and governance side. In a merger or incorporation the decisive question is how two institutional cultures and educational models become one project without losing what gave each its value. I work on that dimension alongside the financial and legal advisors.
Do you replace the financial or legal advisors?
No. My work covers the educational, cultural and institutional dimension of the transaction. I work alongside the financial and legal advisors each party already has.
What types of institutions do you work with?
Universities, business schools, vocational training centres, schools and school networks, in Europe, the Americas and Africa.
When should I involve you?
As early as possible. For buyers, during due diligence and before signing, when the findings can still shape the price and the conditions. For owners, before going to market. Integration support starts once the deal is signed.
How is confidentiality handled?
Confidentiality applies from the first conversation, and I can work under a confidentiality agreement from the outset. I do not disclose clients or transactions.
Does this sound like your situation?
Tell me about your context on WhatsApp. I reply personally and, if it fits, I will suggest a 45-minute conversation.
Message me on WhatsApp