Thoma Bravo explores sale of Instructure, sources say

Instructure Holdings

17/05/2024 23:24

(Adds background on company, share reaction)
    By Milana Vinn
       NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Thoma
Bravo is exploring a sale of Instructure  INST.N , a U.S.
education software provider with a market value of $3 billion,
people familiar with the matter said on Friday. 
    Thoma Bravo, which holds an 83% stake in the company, has
tapped JPMorgan Chase  JPM.N  to gauge the interest of potential
buyers that include other buyout firms, the sources said.
    The sources cautioned no deal is certain and requested
anonymity because the matter is confidential. 
    Thoma Bravo, Instructure and JPMorgan did not immediately
respond to requests for comment. 
    Shares in Instructure, which carried debt of close to $1.2
billion at the end of March, jumped 9% to $22 in afterhours
trading in New York on the news. 
        Based in Salt Lake City, Instructure provides software
to schools, colleges and universities. It has over 8,000
customers in more than 100 countries. 
  
        The company's flagship learning management system is
called Canvas and competes with programs such as Google
Classroom, Blackboard Learn and Schoology. 
  
        Thoma Bravo took Instructure private in 2020 for $2
billion before returning it to the stock market a year later
through an initial public offering. Instructure's shares are
still hovering around their $20 IPO price three years later, as
a boom the company enjoyed from spending on remote learning
during the COVID-19 pandemic fizzled when competition from
rivals intensified.
  
        Earlier this year, Instructure completed the acquisition
of academic credential management platform Parchment for $835
million. 
  
        PowerSchool Holdings, another educational software
vendor with a market value of $4 billion, 
    is also exploring a sale
     and is in talks with private equity firms. 
  

 (Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York
Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Cynthia Osterman)
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