Private equity firm Evegreen acquires majority stake in edutech startup DreamBox Learning

DreamBox Learning, the education technology provider that pioneered intelligent adaptive learning, and Evergreen Coast Capital Corp. , investors in software and technology businesses seeking growth and scale, have signed a definitive agreement for Evergreen to acquire a majority stake in DreamBox.

TPG’s The Rise Fund will retain a significant minority stake and continue to be represented on the company’s Board of Directors.

The deal follows a record year for DreamBox, on target for over $100 million in revenue and nearly 40% growth as K-12 schools accelerate adoption of proven-effective blended learning solutions. DreamBox also expanded its leadership team this year and acquired two companies in the English Language Arts (ELA) market to offer a dual-discipline solution, which now supports approximately 6 million students and 400,000 educators.

Jessie Woolley-Wilson, President and CEO, DreamBox Learning: “We are in an historic moment in the EdTech industry, and all of us at DreamBox have been inspired to see teachers embrace blended learning solutions that are proven to advance the mathematics and reading skills of students both in the classroom and at home. Evergreen not only recognizes what DreamBox has achieved, but also what more our team can do for education with the right complement of engaging and personalized learning technology combined with powerful predictive and real-time analytics that empower learning guardians. Our mission is to radically transform the way the world learns, and this partnership will propel DreamBox into the next phase of growth as we expand the reach of our best-of-breed, dual-discipline solution. This milestone is a testament to our belief that we can ‘do well to do good’ as we deliver highly engaging and adaptive mathematics and reading solutions that unlock learning potential for all students.”

Christian Heim, Managing Director, Evergreen Coast Capital Corp:  “DreamBox is a compelling extension of Evergreen’s continued investment effort in the EdTech market. We look forward to partnering with Jessie Woolley-Wilson, the entire DreamBox team, and The Rise Fund in this new chapter for the Company, bringing together our expertise in data and SaaS technologies, and sustainable growth at scale.”

Isaac Kim, Managing Director, Evergreen Coast Capital Corp:  “We identified DreamBox as a leading innovator pushing the industry forward with highly efficacious solutions. Jessie Woolley-Wilson’s impressive, values-driven leadership has resulted in a differentiated product offering. We look forward to partnering with the teams at DreamBox and The Rise Fund to make a significant impact in education.

The investment comes on the heels of The Rise Fund’s recent acquisition of Teachers of Tomorrow which adds to an education portfolio that includes EverFi, InStride, and Renaissance Learning. 

DreamBox offers schools the only dual-discipline software solution rated “Strong” by Johns Hopkins’ EvidenceforESSA.org in both mathematics and reading. DreamBox is uniquely designed to personalize learning for all learners, providing highly nuanced adaptation that delivers the right lesson at the right time in either English or Spanish and ensuring students’ reading lessons and texts are relevant and valuable at their individual reading level. While personalizing learning pathways for students, DreamBox’s math and reading solutions deliver actionable data insights and resources that complement and guide teachers’ classroom decisions and differentiation.

Macquarie Capital and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher advised the DreamBox board of directors and Jamieson Corporate Finance and Williams & Connolly advised management on the transaction. SVB Technology Investment Banking is acting as financial advisor to Evergreen Coast Capital Corp.

www.dreambox.com

www.elliottmgmt.com