Preparing a PE-backed Ed Tech Company for Sale

The client was an early-childhood education technology company. Leadership and the PE sponsor sought to address technology hurdles and position the technology for a sale by engaging Cuesta for a sell-side technology diligence.
  • Technology Diligence
  • Sell-Side Product Material
  • Real-time technology Assessment

Challenges

  • The Company began in 1978 as a traditional publisher of curriculum materials for districts & teachers and developed its first online assessment platform in 2010
  • Multiple digital products were rapidly developed or acquired from 2017-20, significantly expanding the Company’s potential market and technology footprint
  • New Leadership was faced with a complex process of rationalizing the product suite and retiring technical debt
  • Client sought to develop a sales enablement process to address rapidly changing customer profiles and leverage available data/existing business systems

Solutions

  • Alongside Client and PE leadership, Cuesta developed a thorough sell-side IT diligence deck for inclusion in the seller’s investment bank’s Confidential Information Memorandum to ease the burden of diligence for potential buyers and tell a thoughtful story around the company’s technology properties, digital journey and competent leadership team
  • Cuesta evaluated each product’s history, the product roadmap and clearly defined the product rationalization story
  • Cuesta built a list of potential issues that may arise in buy-side probing, providing guidance on remediation and suggested responses to management