Q1 2026

Education & Training M&A Update

In Q1, the Education Services Industry Index decreased by 4.2%, outperforming the S&P 500 which saw a 4.8% decrease over the same period.
The median EV/Revenue multiple for reported strategic deals in the Education & Training sector increased to 8.4x in Q1 from 1.2x in 2025, and increased for private equity deals to 3.0x from 1.0x in the prior year.
M&A deal volume in the sector decreased 14.3% in Q1 to 162 deals from 189 in Q4 2025, and decreased 4.1% from 169 deals in Q1 of the prior year.
Europe was the most active region in Q1 with 82 deals. Most notable in Europe was Capital A Partners’ $29.6 million buyout of Power4People, a Netherlands-based provider of talent development programs, team coaching and organizational change support.
Total capital invested in M&A transactions decreased 33.3% in Q1 to $1.4B from $2.1B in Q4 2025 due primarily to a decline in the volume of larger sized deals ($1B+) in Q1. The largest deal in Q1 was Sun Venture’s $543.6 million buyout of PSB Academy while in Q4, Workday acquired Sana for $1.1 billion.