Venture Dollars Get Smarter: Strategic Investors Fuel New Visions for the Education Industry

Private investment in education businesses is poised to exceed $5 billion for 1999 and 2000 combined. A handful of the industry's most astute and strategically positioned investors have responded to this fertile investment climate by launching initiatives to nurture nascent education businesses. Kaplan Ventures, Knowledge Universe, Pearson and Sylvan Ventures--the "Big Four"--have emerged as the first wave of strategic investors engaging in equity investments and acquisitions to develop comprehensive solutions for the K-12, postsecondary and corporate markets.

Venture Dollars Get Smarter chronicles the Big Four's investment strategies and activities to aid entrepreneurs and companies approaching these strategic investors. In this report, Eduventures.com identifies the following trends:

The Big Four will allocate at least $2 billion to more than 60 equity investments and acquisitions during the next 12 to 24 months.
A second wave of strategic investors, primarily drawn from the publishing market, will emerge and make 30 to 40 investments and acquisitions during the next 24 months.
The Big Four, and other leading strategic investors, will extend their industry expertise, brands, management and capital across an entire spectrum of knowledge economy activities where learning is the core ingredient.

Capitalizing on both technology innovations providing new delivery and distribution channels and a growing support of and for educational reform initiatives, strategic investors will continue to pursue investment opportunities, driving change in markets throughout the education industry.