GoStudent uses its warchest to acquire large network of traditional tutoring centres in Europe • TechCrunch

GoStudent — the Austria-based late-stage tutor marketplace that has raised $686.3 million (and attained a €3 billion valuation) to date — has acquired Germany-based Studienkreis, a traditional tutoring company, founded in 1974, which is focused on the German-speaking “DACH” region. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Studienkreis had previously been owned, since 2017, by the London-based private equity firm IK Partners. It is best known as a tutoring provider in Germany with more than 1,000 learning centres nationwide, serving 125,000 families annually.

GoStudent said Studienkreis will continue to operate under its existing brand while the the two companies look for synergies.

The acquisition gives GoStudent a substantial offline presence, a ready-made market for its online offering and the ability to cater to families that prefer their children participate in group or real-world, centre-based classes.

The startup has rolled up a number of other companies in the last 12 months, including U.K.-based Seneca Learning, Tus Media Group in Spain and Fox Education from Austria.

According to data from Status and Forecast, the global online tutoring market is was valued at $150 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $278 billion by 2026.

Felix Ohswald, CEO and co-founder of GoStudent, said in a statement: “Over 1.5 million online tutoring sessions are booked each month at GoStudent, but we believe the future of learning is hybrid. Combining online and offline creates an omnichannel model which brings maximum value to families and builds a barrier for competitors.”

Earlier this year GoStudent raised a $340 million Series D funding round to push into international markets.

Meanwhile, in the more vertical language learning tutor space, Preply closed a round of $50 million this year.