Mergers & Acquisitions

The Learning Experience Acquired by Harvest Partners

6682 The Learning Experience NT

M&A Engagement Overview

Industry Group: Consumer
Area of Focus: Franchising, Franchisor, Youth Education and Enrichment

Harris Williams advised The Learning Experience, a portfolio company of Golden Gate Capital, on their sale to Harvest Partners.

TLE operates at the intersection of three attractive investment theses – early childhood education, multi-site services, and franchising. Investors were attracted to the large and fragmented early childhood education market, non-discretionary, needs-based demand, and the rapid and capital-efficient growth of a best-in-class franchisor.

The Learning Experience is highly innovative and one of the most recommended brands in the early childhood education sector.

With more than 430 centers open and 240 additional locations in development across the U.S. and U.K., TLE provides high-quality care and education to over 52,000 children from six weeks to six years old. Family-founded and rooted in a passion for purposeful learning, the company empowers children through a proprietary curriculum that nurtures cognitive, social, and emotional development. Their mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of children, families, and the communities they serve.

TLE’s unique development model enables unmatched growth in the industry and superior franchisee economics, and the brand offers a superior consumer experience in and outside of the classroom through their strong operational support, proprietary curriculum, and “Bubbles and Friends” edutainment platform.

Harvest’s partnership with TLE will unlock additional financial and strategic resources for the company as they continue to expand their footprint of state-of-the-art education facilities, further develop their award-winning edutainment IP, and deliver a best-in-class experience for families and franchisees.

This transaction represents the culmination of the latest of multiple successful private equity partnerships for TLE since their founding in 2001. During Golden Gate’s ownership, TLE more than tripled systemwide sales and expanded internationally and digitally via their proprietary Bubbles & Friends content.

Contact the Harris Williams Consumer Group to learn more about this client engagement.

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