Unigestion acquires Springer Fachmedien München resulting in the formation of TecVia Group

Unigestion*, the independent specialist asset manager, has acquired 100% of Springer Nature’s business for mobility education and training solutions via a carve-out. The business is headquartered in Munich with Springer Fachmedien München being based there. The Group includes further companies in Germany, France, Spain, Austria and Switzerland. In the individual markets, the Group is known through its strong brands such as Verlag Heinrich Vogel, Codes Rousseau and Etrasa. The businesses will be integrated into the newly-established TecVia Group. This divestment enables Springer Nature to strategically focus on its business in the areas of research, education, health and professional. The TecVia Group plans to grow further, with the support of its partner, Unigestion.

The newly formed TecVia Group is the leading pan-European provider of content and software solutions for driver’s license training and the education and training of commercial drivers. With its software solutions, TecVia maps the workflows of its customers and supports them in their daily business along their entire value chain. TecVia offers its customers a complete range of services, from a fully comprehensive ERP system with various interfaces for third-party providers to teaching software for all driver’s license classes and all content for the training and continuing education of commercial drivers to digital student learning media with which the learner drivers prepare for the theoretical and practical driver’s license test.

The company is also active in the growing market for driving simulators with its own software and specific hardware concepts. Simulators enable learner drivers to gain practical knowledge in a safe environment before their first driving lesson on the road, significantly increasing the efficiency of practical driving training. TecVia distinguishes itself with its long-standing, close customer relationships and its comprehensive range of solutions tailored to the needs of driving schools. The company is uniquely positioned as the only full-service partner for driving schools. In 2022, more than 20,000 driving school customers were supported by around 400 employees in five countries – Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland and Austria, where approximately 1.6m driving students have prepared for the theoretical and practical driving license test with TecVia content and tools. In addition to its organic growth ambitions (e.g. in the area of simulators), TecVia’s management team sees further potential in strategic acquisitions and is selectively reviewing acquisition opportunities. As a financially and strategically robust partner, Unigestion supports the international growth of the new group.

Springer Nature is a leading scientific publishing group headquartered in Berlin, Germany. The Group is one of the top ten publishing groups in the world in terms of revenue. Springer Nature Group works on advancing science and education globally through brands such as Springer, Nature, BMC, Palgrave Macmillan, and Scientific American. Springer Nature Group was formed in May 2015 through the merger of Nature Publishing Group, Macmillan Education and Springer Science+Business Media.

Joachim Krieger, Managing Director, Consumer Media, Education, Health and Professional at Springer Nature, said: “We are handing over a strongly positioned, successful business to the new shareholder – Unigestion. With the shareholder change, we are enabling the management and employees of TecVia to position the company independently, opening up new growth options.”

Commenting on the transaction, Peter Lehnert, CEO of TecVia, said: “Our goal is to continue pursuing our concept and to support our customers in optimising their processes. In doing so, we want to integrate new services that are important for our users into our digital ecosystem, thereby strengthening our customers’ competitiveness and giving them the opportunity to tap into additional revenue potential. With this approach, TecVia aims to contribute to more traffic safety on Europe’s roads. Unigestion is our preferred partner: Their professional approach combined with a deep understanding of the international market is invaluable for our development.”

Philipp Scheier, Partner at Unigestion, said: “We were attracted by the company’s leading position as well as its differentiated business model, which fits our investment strategy very well. From an ESG perspective, TecVia creates a direct benefit for society by providing quality education. We are pleased to support TecVia’s continued growth path, as an independent company in the future.”

*The acquisition of TecVia has been undertaken by private equity funds managed by Unigestion. The deal is Unigestion’s third active direct investment in the German-speaking region in the last 18 months and follows the mid-market specialist’s successful acquisition of Zeit für Brot in Germany in 2022 and Home Instead in Switzerland in 2021. Following Unigestion’s Responsible Investment policy, ESG considerations have been integrated into the investment process to ensure that the investment creates long-term sustainable value for clients, stakeholders and society.