Today we announced our intention to acquire Pearson’s local K12 learning content business in Italy (‘Pearson Italy’) and its small exam preparation business in Germany (‘Pearson Germany’). In 2021 the acquired businesses had a revenue of EUR 117 million.
The acquisition has a perfect fit with Sanoma’s strategy to grow our K12 learning business through acquisitions. It also marks our entry to Italy, one of the largest K12 learning services markets in Europe, with 7 million students in primary, secondary and vocational education. After the acquisition, Sanoma Learning will serve more than 25 million K12 students in 12 countries.
Pearson Italy is one of the leading providers of learning materials for secondary education in the country and it has a leading position in certain subjects, including philosophy and literature. Under its strong local brands, Pearson Italy offers schools, teachers and students recognised and reputable high-quality learning materials. Pearson Germany brings a small and interesting addition to our niche services in the German education market.
Rob Kolkman, CEO Sanoma Learning: “We see great potential in further digitalisation in Italy with the digital platforms and products we have in Sanoma Learning and that they have developed in the past years serving a ‘parent paid’ market. The use of digital and hybrid learning materials in Italy is still low with only 35% using hybrid materials.1 Sanoma plans to substantially invest in the development of digital learning platforms for secondary education in the next three years, which will strengthen our digital offering for secondary education not only in Italy, but also in our other countries. We are very excited about this acquisition, a great next step in our ambition to grow and increase our positive impact on learning.”
More information on this acquisition is provided in the stock exchange release.
For press questions please contact Christel Lammertink, Communications Director Sanoma Learning: christel.lammertink@sanoma.com / +31 657 153 456
1 Source: Italian Ministry of Education