RDT Dr. Dautel advised AURELIUS Equity Opportunities KGaA selling the portfolio company AKAD University to strategic buyer Galileo Global Education

Germany’s oldest private distance learning university sold to Europe’s largest higher education group Galileo Global Education for a purchase price of over EUR 45 million.

Galileo Global Education is the largest higher education group in Europe with approx. 170,000 students in 14 countries.

AURELIUS took over AKAD from Franz Cornelsen Bildungsgruppe in April 2014 and has since extensively reorganized the company. During its affiliation with AURELIUS, RDT Dr. Dautel acted as the portfolio company’s tax advisor and had been an active partner on the AKAD Management’s path for growth. Based on a newly developed platform and modularization concept, the number of new students has increased by an average of more than 20 per cent per year since the takeover.

AURELIUS was advised on the transaction by RDT’s tax adviser Dr. Ralph Dautel and Thomas Lohmaier.