San Francisco, CA – December 22, 2020 —

Gryphon Investors (“Gryphon”), a leading middle-market private equity firm, announced today that it has become the majority investor in Meazure Learning (“Meazure” or the “Company”), a full-service exam delivery and online proctoring solution provider for academic, professional, and lifelong learners. Existing sponsor Eastside Partners will retain a significant ownership stake, as will the Company’s management team, including go-forward CEO Scott McFarland. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Meazure Learning is the world’s largest remote exam proctoring company, also offering a full suite of assessment products and services, including proprietary exam development and delivery software as well as reporting and psychometric services, to the academic and professional testing markets. Based in Birmingham, AL, the Company employs nearly 300 people plus a network of over 1,300 trained proctors, and it serves more than 1,000 clients including major universities, certification and licensure associations, standardized testing services, and corporations.

Nick Orum, President and Co-Head of Gryphon’s Software Group, said, “Gryphon has invested previously in the education sector, and we are excited by the trends we’re seeing in the continued intersection of technology and learning. The increasing consumer preference for digitally driven flexibility has opened up a multi-billion-dollar market opportunity in the academic and professional remote testing spaces. We are thrilled to partner with the team at Meazure as we look to welcome new customers and reinforce the Company’s position as the most secure, convenient, and accessible experience for test-takers across the globe.”

Meazure’s management team will continue to be led by CEO McFarland and President Sandy Pitman. As part of the new partnership, Mr. Orum will join the Board of Directors, along with three additional Gryphon executives. Carl Theobald, Software Operating Partner, Jon Cheek, Principal in the Software Group, and Paul Margolis, Executive Advisor to Gryphon’s Software Group, will all join Eastside Partner Benjamin Cobb, who remains on the board.

Mr. Cheek commented, “Even before COVID-19, remote test-taking was undergoing a ‘Blockbuster to Netflix’ type transformation due to massive expansion in e-learning, a proliferation of professional training and certification programs, and a growing recognition of the test-taker convenience and cost savings offered by an online approach versus in-person testing. The pandemic has accelerated these growth trends beyond all expectations and given strong players like Meazure an enormous competitive advantage.”

Mr. Cobb added, “The pandemic has required many test owners to adopt remote proctoring solutions this year, often against the backdrop of 20+ years of in-person testing. We’ve helped testing organizations transition from uncertainty to excitement with remote testing due to some of its unique advantages – secure, safe, convenient, on-demand testing with global candidate reach. We’re excited to partner with Gryphon to better serve our customers and scale our solutions to support test owners whose needs aren’t being met.”

“We are delighted to partner with Gryphon as we plan for near-term, rapid expansion fueled by a changing industry and shifting expectations and requirements by test-takers,” said Mr. McFarland. “Their investment will allow us to solidify our position as a best-in-class remote testing and exam integrity platform and accelerate growth, both organically and through strategic acquisitions.”

Baird acted as financial advisor to Gryphon, and Raymond James was the financial advisor to Meazure. Kirkland & Ellis acted as legal advisor to Gryphon, and Bradley acted as legal advisor to Meazure. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

About Meazure Learning
Meazure Learning (www.meazurelearning.com) is a full-service testing solutions company for academic, professional and lifelong learners. The result of a merger between ProctorU – the world’s largest provider of online, artificial-intelligence-augmented exam security and identity management solutions – and Yardstick Assessment Strategies – a leader in psychometrics and computer-based examination administration for professional testing organizations – Meazure Learning serves the higher education market via the ProctorU brand and the professional testing market via the Yardstick brand. As the first end-to-end testing provider to lead with an online delivery model, Meazure Learning is transforming the testing and assessment landscape.

About Gryphon Investors
Based in San Francisco, Gryphon Investors (www.gryphoninvestors.com) is a leading private equity firm focused on profitably growing and competitively enhancing middle-market companies in partnership with experienced management. The firm has managed over $5.0 billion of equity investments and capital since 1997. Gryphon targets making equity investments of $50 million to $300 million in portfolio companies with enterprise values ranging from approximately $100 million to $500 million. Gryphon prioritizes investment opportunities where it can form strong partnerships with owners and executives to build leading companies, utilizing Gryphon’s capital, specialized professional resources, and operational expertise.

• 18 December 2020 Buyout France, Paris

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Warpwire marks STG’s third investment into a unified platform following the acquisitions of CadmiumCD and EthosCE earlier this year.

Symphony Technology Group (“STG”), a Palo Alto-based private equity firm focused on investing in the software, data analytics, and software-enabled technology services sectors, today announced that it has acquired Warpwire, a Durham, North Carolina-based educational video management company.

“Warpwire focuses on providing world-class reliability and security to our customers. Our partnership with STG will only increase our capabilities for robust video delivery,” said Warpwire co-founder and CTO Monte Evans.

This acquisition underscores STG’s commitment to building a unique, market-leading software platform offering continuing education, professional development, events, learning and content management solutions to associations, healthcare & life sciences organizations, hospitals, and universities globally. Warpwire marks STG’s third investment in this platform following the acquisitions of CadmiumCD and EthosCE earlier this year.

“The acquisitions of EthosCE, CadmiumCD, and now Warpwire, are the continuation of STG’s vision of a unified technology platform for professional education,” said William Chisholm, co-founder and Managing Partner of STG.

“We’re impressed with STG’s research in this product space, and vision to join and strengthen like-minded teams. As we align with EthosCE and CadmiumCD, Warpwire is energized to continue creating compelling media solutions for our shared client base,” adds Warpwire co-founder and COO Andrew Synowiez.

This acquisition is another step toward STG’s vision to create a purpose-built software platform for association, healthcare, life sciences and university customers to help them manage various continuing education, professional development and learning activities through events and online content for their members.

“We released an integration with Warpwire in March 2018,” said EthosCE founder and CTO Ezra Wolfe. “We look forward to offering Warpwire’s video services in new and unique ways as an additional value-add for clients who use video content as part of their continuing education programs.”

“We are very excited to bring Warpwire into our expanding portfolio of industry-leading products and scale it even further by investing in new solution areas and complementary acquisitions,” said Rushi Kulkarni, Principal at STG.

Benefits of the expanded platform include:

• Trackable video content and learner usage metrics
• Low-cost video hosting for continuing education programs
• Secure video delivery inside a password-protected continuing education environment
• Ad-free video player environment for CME
• Multi-camera video recording and playback
• Multiple closed caption provider options, and manual video captions

A 5-minute demo of the Warpwire integration with EthosCE is available on the Warpwire platform.

About Warpwire

Warpwire is a video delivery platform for leading enterprise and educational institutions whose users require a secure, simple, and reliable system for hosting media content. Founded in 2013, Warpwire’s team has extensive experience custom-integrating media technologies for learning environments in ways that are accessible, flexible, and collaborative.

For more information, please visit www.warpwire.com

About EthosCE

EthosCE is the leading learning management system for medical associations, universities, health systems, and medical education companies. EthosCE is produced by DLC Solutions, LLC. Established in 2001, DLC Solutions develops innovative e-learning solutions to support diverse professional populations.

For more information, please visit www.ethosce.com

About CadmiumCD

CadmiumCD is an event management software company with more than 15 years of experience providing solutions for Meeting Planners, Exhibition Organizers, Education Directors, and Attendees. The company’s award-winning platform is trusted by more than 3,500 meeting professionals worldwide to collect, manage and share content to all event stakeholders.

For more information, please visit www.cadmiumcd.com

About Symphony Technology Group

STG is the private equity partner to market leading companies in data, software, and analytics. The firm brings expertise, flexibility, and resources to build strategic value and unlock the potential of innovative companies. Partnering to build customer-centric, market winning portfolio companies, STG creates sustainable foundations for growth that bring value to all existing and future stakeholders. The firm is dedicated to transforming and building outstanding technology companies in partnership with world class management teams. STG’s expansive portfolio has consisted of more than 30 global companies.

Partnered with majority shareholder Abénex since 2018, Eureka Education has today issued a statement on its ongoing growth strategy alongside Naxicap Partners, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers*.
On completion of the deal, Abénex and the Finoli Group will transfer their interest to Naxicap Partners, which will hold a majority of the group’s capital alongside managers, who are reinvesting in the deal.

Eureka Education is now a major player in private professional and higher education through its three education verticals: Silvya Terrade (beauty, cosmetics, fragrances, and hairdressing); Euridis Business School (complex B2B sales and negotiations); and SupTertiaire (real estate and social housing). Drawing on the skills of more than 1,000 teachers, the group hosts nearly 10,000 students each year for training programmes from high-school to BAC+5 on more than 50 campuses in France and Switzerland. The training courses are fully recognised by the state and professional branches and are based on Education Nationale diplomas (BAC, BTS, etc.) as well as RNCP and CQP qualifications from levels 1 to 5 (V to I in the French nomenclature).

Since its acquisition by Abénex in April 2018, the group has implemented an ambitious buy-and-build strategy with the completion of nearly 20 external growth deals, allowing for the strengthening of Silvya Terrade’s historic leadership and the addition of two new high-growth divisions (Euridis Business School and SupTertiaire).

The Group aims to pursue its organic and external growth strategy in France and in Europe by expanding its existing network of schools, acquiring schools in new education verticals, and increasing investments in the digitisation of content and teaching methods.
Bernard de Sagazan, head of Eureka Education, says, ‘We are very pleased to welcome Naxicap Partners with which we share an ambitious vision of the group’s development. This will allow us to continue to develop our training catalogue according to market needs and better understand the many recent developments in our sector such as the rise in apprenticeship and the arrival of CPF in its new form’.
Antoine Houël, a partner at Abénex, adds, ‘We are proud to have supported Eureka Education Group management during this impressive expansion phase. Eureka is now a major player in education in France, operating three renowned schools, recognised both for the quality of their teaching and their ability to facilitate students’ entry into ambitious career paths. We wish the new shareholders and management every success in continuing this way’.

‘Naxicap Partners is pleased to announce the acquisition of a majority stake in Eureka Education Group alongside Bernard de Sagazan and his teams. The group’s expertise and unique position as well as the quality of its management team make this a rare investment opportunity in the sector’, said Eric Aveillan, Chairman of the Executive Board at Naxicap Partners.

Contacts:
Eureka Education: Bernard de Sagazan
Legal – Corporate: Hugot Avocats (Olivier Hugot, Farrah Ducher)
Legal – Management: Jeausserand Audouard (Erwan Bordet, Eléonore Gaulier)
Financial Adviser – managers: Oloryn Partners (Eric Lesieur, Cyrille Leclerc)
Financial VDD: KPMG (Damien Moron, Sophie Dervain, Charles-Boris Pavard)
Finoli Group: Grégory Declercq, Pierre Juhen
Legal – M&A: Jeausserand Audouard (Erwan Bordet, Eléonore Gaulier)
M&A Adviser: Rothschild & Co. (Pierre Sader, Augustin Delouvrier)
Abénex: Antoine Houël, Karim Hoebanx
Legal – M&A: McDermott, Will & Emery (Grégoire Andrieux, Louis Leroy, Lucas Tabouret)
M&A Adviser: Rothschild & Co. (Pierre Sader, Augustin Delouvrier)
Naxicap Partners: Eric Aveillan, Laurent Sallé, Aurélien Dorkel, Simon Ricque, Agathe Baujard, Mouncef Daifallah, Corentin Desbois
Legal – M&A and Corporate: Edge Avocats (Matthieu Lochardet, Claire Baufine-Ducrocq)
Legal – Tax: Keels Avocats (Laurent Partouche, Hélène Leclère, Adélie Louvigné)
Legal – Financial: Mayer Brown (Patrick Teboul, Marion Minard, Julien Leris)
M&A Adviser: Clearwater (Thomas Hamelin – Edmond de Rothschild Corporate Finance since 01/09/2020, Sophie Lerond), Lazard (Charles Andrez)
Financial Adviser: Clearwater (Laurence de Rosamel, Paul Assael)
Financial Due Diligence: Exelmans (Stéphane Dahan, Manuel Manas, Rodolphe Savary De Beauregard)
Legal, Tax and Social Due Diligence: Edge Avocats (Matthieu Lochardet, Claire Baufine-Ducrocq)
Strategic Due Diligence: Indefi (Julien Berger, Mehdi Belefqih, Adam Laissaoui)
Financing: Barings (Alice Foucault, Benjamin Gillet, Rana Misirlizade)
Barings Legal: Nabarro & Hinge (Jonathan Nabarro)

About Eureka Education
Eureka Education is the leading institution in the field of professional education in France and Switzerland. Every year, the Group provides over 10.000 students with a large array of courses ranging from French BAC (A-Level) to Master’s degrees across a proprietary network of 50 campuses and employed more than 1.000 teachers and administrative staff.
Building on strong and diversified fundamentals, as well as strenghtened financial capabilities, Eureka Education ambitions to further enhance its position as leading consolidation platform for high-employement professional schools in France and in Europe.
www.eureka-education.fr

About Naxicap Partners
As one of the top private equity firms in France, Naxicap Partners – an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers* – has €3.5 billion in assets under management. As a committed, responsible investor, Naxicap Partners builds solid, constructive partnerships with entrepreneurs so that their projects can succeed. The firm has 39 investment professionals spread across five offices in Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Nantes and Frankfurt.
For more information, visit www.naxicap.fr/en

About Natixis Investment Managers*
Natixis Investment Managers serves financial professionals with more insightful ways to construct portfolios. Powered by the expertise of more than 20 specialized investment managers globally, we apply Active Thinking® to deliver proactive solutions that help clients pursue better outcomes in all markets. Natixis Investment Managers ranks among the world’s largest asset management firms1 with more than $1 trillion assets under management2 (€906.0 billion).
eadquartered in Paris and Boston, Natixis Investment Managers is a subsidiary of Natixis. Listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, Natixis is a subsidiary of BPCE, the second-largest banking group in France. Natixis Investment Managers’ affiliated investment management firms include AEW; Alliance Entreprendre; AlphaSimplex Group; DNCA Investments;3 Dorval Asset Management; Flexstone Partners; Gateway Investment Advisers; H2O Asset Management; Harris Associates; Investors Mutual Limited; Loomis, Sayles & Company; Mirova; MV Credit; Naxicap Partners; Ossiam; Ostrum Asset Management; Seeyond; Seventure Partners; Thematics Asset Management; Vauban Infrastructure Partners; Vaughan Nelson Investment Management; Vega Investment Managers;4 and WCM Investment Management. Additionally, investment solutions are offered through Natixis Investment Managers Solutions, and Natixis Advisors offers
other investment services through its AIA and MPA division. Not all offerings available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit Natixis Investment Managers’ website at im.natixis.com
| LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/natixis-investment-managers.
Natixis Investment Managers’ distribution and service groups include Natixis Distribution, L.P., a limited purpose broker-dealer and the distributor of various U.S. registered investment companies for which advisory services are provided by affiliated firms of Natixis Investment Managers, Natixis Investment Managers S.A. (Luxembourg), Natixis Investment Managers International (France), and their affiliated distribution and service entities in Europe and Asia.
1 Cerulli Quantitative Update: Global Markets 2020 ranked Natixis Investment Managers as the 17th largest asset manager in the world based on assets under management as of December 31, 2019.
2 Assets under management (“AUM”) as of June 30, 2020 is $1,017.7 billion. AUM, as reported, may include notional assets, assets serviced, gross assets, assets of minority-owned affiliated entities and other types of non-regulatory AUM managed or serviced by firms affiliated with Natixis Investment Managers.
3 A brand of DNCA Finance.
4 A wholly-owned subsidiary of Natixis Wealth Management.

About Abénex
Founded in 1992, Abénex is a historical player in French private equity market, specialized in growth and buyout transactions both as a minority and majority shareholder. Independent for more than 10 years, Abénex operates in three segments of private equity: Smallcaps, Midcaps and Real-estate.
In Small and Midcap segments, Abénex is a long-term investor partnering with entrepreneurs and founding families, and operationally-involved in growth and operational optimization projects. Abénex is committed to the Management team’s success, providing them with a fully dedicated operational team to support their projects of transformation and external growth strategy. Abénex invests in SMEs valued up to €50m in Smallcaps and between €50m and €500m in Midcaps.
The team is composed of 30 professionals with demonstrated and renowned expertise, located in Paris and Lyon.
Abénex is approved by the AMF (Autorité des Marchés Financiers) to manage FPCI (Fonds Professionnels de Capital Investissement) and OPCI (Organismes de Placement Collectif Immobilier) funds.
www.abenex.com

About Groupe Finoli
Groupe Finoli is a French industrial conglomerate founded in 2008 by MM Pierre Juhen and Grégory Declercq, with a strong track record of supporting long-term development projects and values. Groupe Finoli currently operates in the fields of healthcare, beauty and wellness, through its main subsidiaries PATYKA, the leading French organic skincare brand, and NUTRIMUSCLE, European leader in the field of food supplements dedicated to high-intensity ahtletes.

Press contacts

Naxicap Partners
Valérie Sammut – Tel: 04 72 10 87 99
valerie.sammut@naxicap.fr
Abenex
Antoine Houël – Tel : 01 53 93 69 18
antoine.houel@abenex.com