Compass, a leading provider of K-12 vertical SaaS software, has announced a strategic investment from EQT, a global investment organization focused on purpose-driven initiatives. This investment aims to support Compass's continued growth, product development, and innovation. Established in 2010 and based in Melbourne, Australia, Compass delivers a comprehensive, cloud-based school management platform designed for the K-12 education sector. The platform is utilized by over 3,000 schools and more than 4 million parents, teachers, and students. Compass has recently expanded its services to Ireland and the UK, offering management solutions tailored for individual state schools, private independent schools, enterprise education dioceses, and State and Territory education departments.
With EQT's support, Compass is set to further expand in Australia and its key markets as schools increasingly modernize their systems and shift to the cloud. In this environment, Compass is well-positioned to experience enhanced adoption of its comprehensive suite of over 40 modules and integrated payment solutions.
Group CEO and Founder John de la Motte - who continues as a significant shareholder in the Company – said, “Compass is investing heavily to further develop the platform with a focus on analytics, learning, assessment, and timetabling — each of which are rapidly gaining traction in schools. The partnership with EQT, which brings to Compass its deep expertise supporting education and technology businesses globally, will support us in accelerating growth. We anticipate EQT’s support will even better enable Compass to expand internationally, pursue selective M&A opportunities, and accelerate hiring to bring forward some key projects”.
Nicholas Macksey, Partner in the EQT Private Capital Asia advisory team and head of the Mid-Market Growth strategy said, "Compass is a standout leader in the education software space, and we have been consistently impressed by the company’s dedication to supporting meaningful education outcomes and exceptional user experiences for educators and parents. Compass extends EQT’s track record of supporting technology solutions that strategically align with our investment themes, enabling us to leverage our deep insights to enhance and drive innovation in key sectors. We look forward to working closely with John and Compass’ talented team to accelerate Compass’ mission of creating lasting value in the educational field".
EQT is investing in Compass via the BPEA EQT Mid-Market Growth Partnership (the “MMG Fund”). This investment strategy builds on EQT’s existing large-cap buyout platform in Asia Pacific and utilizes its extensive pan-Asian presence to drive key initiatives within its portfolio. EQT has been an active investor in the software and tech services sector across Asia through both its MMG and large-cap strategies. Compass joins EQT’s portfolio, which also includes companies such as Quantios, HRBrain, and WSO2.
As part of the transaction, Advent Partners will exit its investment in Compass, which was initiated six years ago. Robert Radcliffe Smith, Managing Partner at Advent Partners, stated: “It has been incredibly rewarding to be part of Compass' growth journey, expanding from 1,000 schools in Melbourne to 3,000 schools across Australia, the UK, Ireland, and New Zealand. This achievement is a tribute to John and the Compass team for building a business that now has millions of passionate teachers, students, and parents who use the product every day. Compass is now arguably the world’s leading SaaS Student Information System.”
