IT training and sourcing firm mthree has been acquired by a US digital training firm in a deal worth nearly £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 (£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’s growth – this prompted the purchase.
“Wiley is committed to bridging the gap between education output and industry need,” said Brian Napack, President and CEO of Wiley.
“The acquisition of mthree advances Wiley’s leadership in powering the high-demand, high-potential careers that are fueling the global knowledge economy.
“CEO Alex Headley and his team have built a great company with extremely high customer and client satisfaction”
Headley, who became CEO of the firm in 2010, added: “The last five years have seen tremendous growth for mthree.
“We have been on a journey from a start-up to a global corporation that includes partnerships with the world’s largest banks and disruptive tech businesses.”