Technology

Supporting AI-enabled advancement in the PreK–12 education sector

Macquarie Capital acted as exclusive financial adviser to Istation on its merger with Amira Learning

Sector	Technology
Sub-sector	Education, Software
Location	United States

Opportunity

Istation is a leading provider of adaptive and personalised digital learning solutions for PreK through to eighth grade learners.

Istation provides a robust, all-in-one solution incorporating research-based, proven strategies for online assessment, instruction and personalised learning for reading, math, history and Spanish literacy.

Amira Learning (Amira) is a global EdTech company that has developed the world’s first AI-enabled reading tool that, by listening to students as they read out loud, assesses mastery, ensures comprehension and delivers personalised tutoring to accelerate reading mastery. Amira’s AI-based literacy tool is currently being used by more than 3,000 schools, reaching over two million students across 17 countries.

Approach

Macquarie Capital's Software and Services team acted as exclusive financial adviser to Istation on its merger with Amira Learning.

Drawing upon its deep expertise in the education and EdTech sectors, Macquarie Capital was able to build significant competitive momentum by articulating the value of nascent business lines for a variety of key potential partners, including financial sponsors and strategic parties, while leveraging Macquarie Group's extensive network to engage with relevant bidders.

AI has started to revolutionise the global education sector, creating demand for more sophisticated products, platforms and technologies. Amira's advanced AI technology can provide the experience of individual tutoring at a fraction of the cost, improving educational outcomes for millions of young students.”

Sam Shah
Co-head of Americas and Global Head of Software and Services
Macquarie Capital

Outcome

The merger with Istation will complement Amira's AI-powered reading assistant, providing students and educators with new features and capabilities as the best of both products enhance one another.

Together, the companies will deliver AI-powered solutions that change classrooms for the better – serving four million PreK-12 students in all 50 states and 17 countries.

The combined entity will also create significant synergies that will better serve students while minimising reliance on additional funding to support continued growth.