• CAD 225m systemwide revenue in 2024
• To acquire tutoring for K-12
• Vocational training in US to be rebranded under Pitman umbrella

LaunchLife International, a Richmond Hill, Ontario-based franchisor of branded postsecondary and K-12 education institutions, is actively seeking acquisitions following an investment from Phoenix Partners, said Darryl Simsovic, CEO of LaunchLife.

The business, with systemwide revenue of CAD 225m (USD 157m) for 2024 has been around in various iterations since the 1980s but has been called LaunchLife since 2016, Simsovic said. LaunchLife is “highly profitable,” he added.

The company’s career college and continuing education brands – Academy of Learning Career College and UK-based Pitman Training – represent the majority of revenue but it sees significant opportunity for bolt-on acquisitions in the K-12 segment, Simsovic added.

Future M&A could comprise career colleges, continuing education businesses, and “even swim schools for kids,” he said.

“Although the segments may sound different, our business is about franchise education concepts – adults and K-12,” he said.

“We were looking for a strategic partner to help us grow internationally and in Canada and the UK where we currently dominate,” Simsovic added.

The equity represented a significant stake, he said, without disclosing terms.

François Fauteux, founder and managing partner of Phoenix, said in a joint interview that the kids segment including tutoring has more opportunity for growth because it is less developed than the career college/continuing education segment. M&A is likely to be more focused on tutoring, he added.

LaunchLife’s K-12 tutoring franchise concept is called School Is Easy, which is largely focused on Canada. It also owns Engineering for Kids, a provider of hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) programs in North America.

Unlike other players in the space, “we have the advantage of being both online and in person,” Fauteux said of School is Easy.

As for the adult segments, Fauteux said it could acquire vocational training businesses in the US to rebrand under Pitman. Targets could comprise career colleges aimed at helping high schoolers get their first jobs and vocational training businesses for retraining and upskilling mature workers.

Targets need not be franchise businesses but that is the preference, according to the CEO.

Fauteux said the size is flexible. “Even a small footprint – one to three locations – would be a nice bridge into the US.“

Simsovic said a target could be as large as LaunchLife “as long as it makes sense.” As far as content, targets should not be focused on manual, heavy trades but instead on more theoretical, knowledge industries. For example, content should be around logistics, not installing drywall, he said.

For a large deal, the company could use debt or even bring in another equity partner, Fauteux added.

In addition to M&A, the company will grow organically by deploying its Academy of Learning or Pitman curriculum to English-speaking jurisdictions around the world through franchisees in India, Australia, and the Middle East, according to Fauteux. “We’re looking for multi-unit owners and to scale the business in a geography,” said Simsovic.

The transaction was financed by National Bank of Canada, CIBC and RBC, the CEO said. Deloitte was the sell side advisor on the sale effort, he said. The investment was from Phoenix Partners Fund II.