John Wiley & Sons, Inc., a global leader in research and education, announced today that it has acquired mthree from ECI Partners LLP. mthree is a rapidly growing education services provider that addresses the IT skills gap by finding, training and placing job-ready technology talent in roles with leading corporations worldwide. Under the terms of the agreement, mthree shareholders received approximately $129 million (£98 million) in cash at January 1 closing.
mthree sources, trains, and prepares aspiring students and professionals to meet the skill needs of today’s tech careers, and then places them with some of the world’s largest financial institutions, technology companies, and government agencies. mthree also works with its clients to retrain and retain existing employees so they can continue to meet the changing demands of today’s technology landscape. The Company’s revenue for calendar year 2019 is expected to be over $50 million, with a projected annual growth rate of over 20%.
“Wiley is committed to bridging the gap between education output and industry need,” said Brian Napack, President and CEO of Wiley. “The acquisition of mthree advances Wiley’s leadership in powering the high-demand, high-potential careers that are fueling the global knowledge economy. CEO Alex Headley and his team have built a great company with extremely high customer and client satisfaction — mthree is putting people in great IT jobs with great companies, and these people are succeeding. We are very pleased to welcome them to the Wiley family.”
The addition of mthree to Wiley’s Education Services portfolio reinforces Wiley’s commitment to driving outstanding career outcomes by delivering high-quality education content, platforms and services that target high-demand careers and disciplines. In 2020, there will be over 1.8 million unfilled computer-related job opportunities in the US and EMEA, yet only 100,000 computer science grads, according to industry statistics. With Gartner reporting a global IT spend of $3.7 trillion, technology is among the most in-demand disciplines for students, professionals, universities and corporations.
“The last five years have seen tremendous growth for mthree. We have been on a journey from a start-up to a global corporation that includes partnerships with the world’s largest banks and disruptive tech businesses,” said Alex Headley, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, mthree. “Wiley will enable mthree’s strategic growth plans to be realized, helping more graduates navigate the changing world of work and our clients grow their businesses with the right talent.”
Todd Zipper, President of Wiley Education Services said, “mthree is a terrific company that extends Wiley’s unmatched portfolio of education services right into the workplace. They effectively eliminate the friction that exists in the labor market when students leave higher education and try to enter the workforce and, in doing so, they create a win-win-win for the university, the corporation and, most of all, the student.”
Jefferies LLC acted as mthree’s sole financial advisor on this transaction. Addleshaw Goddard LLP acted as legal advisor to ECI Partners LLP, and Osborne Clarke LLP acted as legal advisor to mthree management.
