Acquisition Provides FEV Tutor the Opportunity to Scale its Reach to Disadvantaged K-12 Students to Help Students Overcome Educational Equity Gap
FEV Tutor (“FEV”), the K-12 market leading research and evidence-based online tutoring platform, today announced its partnership with Alpine Investors (“Alpine”), a people-driven private equity firm that is a Certified B Corporation committed to building enduring businesses. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Alpine’s partnership will help further FEV Tutor’s mission to develop high-quality, online learning solutions that drive change by positively impacting learning outcomes for students from all backgrounds. As part of the transaction, Jim Tormey of Alpine will be the new Chief Executive Officer at FEV Tutor, with Co-Founders Anirudh Baheti and Ryan Patenaude continuing in leadership roles.
For more than a decade, FEV Tutor has transformed the lives of K-12 disadvantaged and at-risk students through its high impact virtual tutoring model and expansive suite of district services. FEV partners with schools and districts to provide high-quality, structured 1:1 online tutoring solutions, delivered by an extensive 24/7 network of highly trained tutors. FEV provides high-touch client support, tailored program design, data analytics, and ongoing formative assessments for its K-12 customer base. FEV Tutor’s products meet the Level Two Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the national education law that helps ensure success for students and schools.
FEV Tutor has observed heightened demand for its solutions due to ongoing learning achievement and equity gaps. These expanding learning gaps have brought more attention and resources to support districts and students, while the acceptance of K-12 online learning has also expanded rapidly in recent years. Amidst these two trends, FEV Tutor sees an incredible opportunity to positively impact students’ lives by providing its research-based tutoring program to thousands of K-12 public school districts nationwide.
Jim Tormey joins FEV from Alpine’s CEO-in-Residence (CIR) Program, which allows proven executives to step into leadership roles within Alpine’s portfolio. Prior to joining FEV Tutor, Jim served as President & CEO of MidAmerica Administrative & Retirement Solutions, a third-party administrator for health and retirement benefits funding and former Alpine portfolio company.
“Under Anirudh and Ryan’s leadership, FEV Tutor has a demonstrated track record of success in closing achievement gaps and delivering quality outcomes for students. It’s my firm belief that despite its success to date, this business has only scratched the surface of its potential and I couldn’t be more excited to partner with the team to drive this next phase of growth and to positively impact more deserving students,” said CEO of FEV Tutor, Jim Tormey.
“We’re excited to partner with Alpine for the next stage of FEV’s growth as we see a generational opportunity to impact the lives of millions of K-12 students nationwide while closing ongoing achievement and equity gaps," said Co-Founder of FEV Tutor, Ryan Patenaude. “Alpine’s PeopleFirst philosophy aligns with the DNA of our company and supports our values, which are all about doing good for people. FEV Tutor was established on the principle of being built to serve school districts at scale. Alpine’s expertise nationwide in the education space will not only help FEV Tutor extend its reach to more schools and districts, but also assist and accelerate our investments in our products, platforms, and team.”
“Alpine has been active in the education sector for years and our partnership with FEV Tutor is an exciting opportunity to advance further in addressing the education gap in this country. Young people of all backgrounds are struggling with COVID-related learning loss and teachers are getting burned out. As the market-leading provider of K-12 tutoring, FEV Tutor has the momentum to deliver real and tangible positive outcomes on a national scale. On behalf of all of us at Alpine Investors, we couldn’t be more excited to begin that important work together with the company,” said Founding Partner at Alpine Investors, Mark Strauch.
Today’s partnership with FEV Tutor adds to Alpine’s growing portfolio of education focused companies, which includes Wilson Language Training and Riverside Insights, and past investments in Perennial EdTech and McKissock Learning.
Tyton Partners served as exclusive financial advisor to FEV.
About FEV Tutor
Based in Boston, FEV Tutor is the leading research and evidence-based online tutoring platform working nationally to effect change in K-12 education. Its ESSA-approved programs are strategically designed in close collaboration with each partner school, district, charter school, and other organizations to accelerate learning for every student. FEV Tutor leverages technology to deliver 1:1 high-impact and transformative personalized learning pathways through live, virtual tutoring sessions. For more information on FEV Tutor, visit www.fevtutor.com or follow on Twitter.
About Alpine Investors
Alpine Investors is a people-driven private equity firm that is committed to building enduring companies by working with, learning from, and developing exceptional people. Alpine specializes in investments in companies in the software and services industries. Its PeopleFirst strategy includes a talent program which allows Alpine to bring leadership to situations where additional or new management is needed post-transaction. Alpine is currently investing out of its over $2.25 billion eighth fund. For more information, visit www.alpineinvestors.com.