Sidley is representing Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. in its acquisition of global edtech company Discovery Education, Inc. from Francisco Partners. Upon closing of the transaction, Clearlake will become the majority shareholder while Francisco Partners will retain a minority equity stake. Discovery Education provides K-12 digital curriculum to educators and students around the world, driving student engagement across a variety of subjects via interactive content, video resources, and teaching tools that deliver real-world learning experiences. This new investment is focused on accelerating growth and expediting delivery of Discovery Education’s digital learning platform to educators and students worldwide. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022, pending customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions.
The Sidley deal team is being led by Mehdi Khodadad and Scott Parel (M&A and Private Equity), and includes Jocelyne Kelly, Hannah Marshall, Amanda Patterson, Jonathan Litsey, and Cameasha Turner (M&A and Private Equity); Nicholas Schwartz, Kristen Smith, Shneur Wolvovsky, and Nicholas Prey (Global Finance); Rachel Kleinberg and Jonathan Westreich (Tax); Eric Kauffman, Cathryn Le Regulski, Peter McCorkell, and Emily Wajert (Employment); Stacy Crosnicker and Gregory Matisoff (Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation); Kyle Barnett and Ida Ebeid (Technology and Life Sciences Transactions); Karen Kazmerzak, Ken Daly, Jamie Sadler, and Jakob Dewispelaere (Antitrust/Competition); Andrew Shoyer, Sven De Knop, and Alessandra Moroni (International Trade); Ike Adams (Regulatory and Enforcement); and Sujit Rahman, Sheri Porath Rockwell, and Francesca Blythe (Privacy and Cybersecurity).
