Instructure to be acquired by NY investment firm KKR for $4.8 billion

Instructure Holdings Inc., a Salt Lake City-based provider of solutions such as product training, learning management and instructional design for the education sector, has announced that it has agreed to be acquired by investment funds managed by KKR, a global investment firm. New York City-based KKR has agreed to pay $23.60 per share in an all-cash transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $4.8 billion. The per-share purchase price represents a premium of 16 percent over Instructure’s share price of $20.27 as of May 17, the last trading day prior to media reports regarding a potential transaction.

KKR, with participation from Dragoneer Investment Group of San Francisco, will acquire all outstanding shares, including those shares owned by Instructure’s existing majority owner, software investment firm Thoma Bravo, which took the company public in 2021.

The Instructure management team, led by CEO Steve Daly, will continue to lead the company in their current roles. KKR will support Instructure as it increases investment in technology and innovation across its global learning platform, including its core Canvas and Parchment products, the acquisition announcement said.

“Our leadership team laid out an aggressive go-forward strategy in our investor day presentation earlier this year,” said Daly. “We believe Instructure has a significant growth runway as we focus on core markets, unlocking new opportunities and continuing to build the Instructure Learning Ecosystem. It was immediately apparent that KKR is aligned with our long-term vision and growth strategy and we look forward to working closely with them. Together, we’ll expect to build on our position as the education platform that powers learning for a lifetime and turns education into opportunities for all learners globally.”

Instructure’s products have impacted approximately 200 million learners across more than 100 countries through its community of over 1,000 partners. Together with its network of educators, learners and partners, the company has goals of broadening its platform and delivering $1 billion in revenue by 2028, Daly said.

“Given its unique positioning at the center of academic life, Instructure has a distinct opportunity to be a true end-to-end partner to students, teachers and administrators,” said Webster Chua, partner at KKR. “Instructure has evolved into an expansive platform focused on delivering strong student outcomes under Thoma Bravo’s stewardship. We look forward to working with Steve and the Instructure management team to accelerate growth and continue scaling its global portfolio of products.”

KKR is making its investment in Instructure through its North America Fund XIII. KKR said it will create a broad-based equity ownership program to provide all of the company’s 1,700 employees the opportunity to further participate in the benefits of ownership after the transaction closes.

The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the Instructure board of directors, is expected to close later this year, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals. Upon completion of the transaction, Instructure’s common stock will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Instructure will become a privately held company. The company will remain headquartered in Salt Lake City.