IT training and sourcing firm mthree has been acquired by a US digital training firm in a deal worth nearly 拢100m.
New Jersey-based John Wiley & Sons – also known simply as Wiley – bought the firm from private equity partner ECI Partners which invested in mthree last year and will now exit.
mthree shareholders received approximately $129 million (拢98 million) in cash at 1st January closing.
London-based mthree is designed to address the growing IT skills gap by finding, training and placing technology talent into roles with corporations and government agencies worldwide.
It also works with its clients to retrain and retain existing employees to meet growing technological demand.
Its revenue for calendar year 2019 is expected to be over $50m, with a projected annual growth rate of over 20 per cent.
Wiley suggests the industry could see over 1.8 million unfilled computer-related job opportunities in the US and EMEA and only 100,000 computer science grads in 2020.
The firm said it too is focussed on closing the gap and – alongside mthree鈥檚 growth 鈥� this prompted the purchase.
鈥淲iley is committed to bridging the gap between education output and industry need,鈥� said Brian Napack, President and CEO of Wiley.
鈥淭he acquisition of mthree advances Wiley鈥檚 leadership in powering the high-demand, high-potential careers that are fueling the global knowledge economy.
鈥淐EO Alex Headley and his team have built a great company with extremely high customer and client satisfaction鈥�
Headley, who became CEO of the firm in 2010, added: 鈥淭he last five years have seen tremendous growth for mthree.
鈥淲e have been on a journey from a start-up to a global corporation that includes partnerships with the world鈥檚 largest banks and disruptive tech businesses.鈥�