Ardian backed AD Education acquires the European operations of SAE Institute, a leader in Audiovisual and creative media higher education

AD Education, a leading European higher education platform, announces the acquisition of the European operations of SAE Institute (“SAE Institute Europe”), a leader in Audiovisual and Creative Media higher education, from Navitas. This marks an important milestone as AD Education extends its geographical footprint, notably in the DACH region, and strengthens its position as the largest Creative Arts pure player in Europe.

SAE Institute Europe has developed a strong reputation across the Creative Arts industry and has been widely recognized, particularly in Audio. It has also developed a large footprint across Europe, with 22 campuses in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Belgium and the Netherlands. SAE Institute Europe delivers accredited Certificates, Diplomas, Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Audio, Video games, Filmmaking, and Website development to 4,000+ students and generates over €50 million of revenues.

Following the recent acquisitions of Barreira Arte y Diseño in 2020, a Design & Graphical Arts leading school in Spain, and IMAAT in 2021, a French specialist in Audiovisual, the acquisition of SAE Institute Europe is a landmark transaction enabling AD Education to consolidate its strong position in Europe with a presence in 6 new countries while expanding its courses offering in Audiovisual.

Together, AD Education and SAE Institute Europe will capitalize on their leading positions in their respective markets in order to roll out both AD Education and SAE Institute programs in countries, schools and campuses where such programs are not yet in place. This will allow to reinforce the offering of the group, further enriching their educational content to the benefit of the students. Both companies actually share common DNA and visions, with their main focus being the students’ fulfilment and their employability in a growing Creative Arts job market.

Founded in 2009, AD Education is a leading European higher education platform, pure player in the field of Creative Arts and teaching to more than 18,000 students in 14 schools on 44 campuses in France, Italy, Spain and Germany. AD Education covers 4 main sub-segments: Design & Graphical Arts, Media & Digital, Audiovisual and Culture & Luxury.

“We are excited to welcome the SAE Institute Europe family to the Group. We share common values, dedicating time and energy to the development of academic programs and accompanying students towards their professional lives. We strongly believe that this combination will be mutually beneficial to both companies and we look forward to working with SAE Management team and employees to make SAE brand thrive.” KEVIN GUENEGAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE AD EDUCATION GROUP

“We are very proud to accompany AD Education, Kevin Guenegan and the management team in this major acquisition which is a key milestone in the acceleration of the internationalization and development of the group. The partnership with SAE Europe will support AD Education’s strong growth in Europe and further improve value proposition for the combined Group’s students.“ EMMANUEL MIQUEL, MANAGING DIRECTOR IN THE BUYOUT TEAM AT ARDIAN

The joint company will teach to more than 22,000 students in 10 countries in Europe with combined revenues close to €200 million.

The transaction remains subject to antitrust approval.