TPG Capital to acquire UK’s digital education business TSL Education

US private equity firm TPG Capital will acquire Britain's TSL Education, a digital education business, from its European peer Charterhouse Capital Partners, for a reported £400 million ($595 million).

The two PE firms did not disclose the size of the deal, but citing two sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that TPG Capital paid $595 million.

TSL, which publishes the Times Educational Supplement, was acquired by Charterhouse Capital in 2007 from London-based buy-out firm Exponent Private Equity, which in turn, had acquired it in 2005 from Rupert Murdoch's News International.

Based in London with offices in Washington DC, New Delhi and Sydney, TSL Education is one of the fastest-growing digital communities of any profession globally, and also has a 100 year old print heritage.

With over 2.5 million registered online users in over 274 countries and territories, it is the largest online network of teachers in the world.

TSL's flagship platform TES Connect is home to more than 620,000 teaching resources and connects 52 million teachers and students across the globe.

TES Connect is now the largest single-professional network in the world and up to 8 lesson plans are downloaded every second by teachers in 197 countries.

Louise Rogers, CEO of TSL Education, said, "We are extremely excited to enter the next phase of our growth strategy with TPG and I am very proud of the whole team at TSL who have helped to transform our company into a Global Digital Education Business. TPG shares our vision to help drive up standards of education by putting TSL platforms into the hands of every teacher in the world."

Karl Peterson, managing partner for TPG, said, "TSL is well known for its longstanding and vital role in the UK education sector.  Over the past several years Louise and her team have done an outstanding job in transitioning the business to become the leading site for teachers both online and in print while gaining a sizeable and growing audience across the globe.''

''TPG's global presence and extensive online experience fit well with the company's ambitions and we anticipate accelerating growth through further investments in TSL's digital capabilities," he added.