05 January 2023

---

Avista Capital Partners acquires Spear Education

---

Avista Capital Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on healthcare, announced its acquisition of Spear Education, a tech-enabled provider of digital and in-person clinical training, practice analytics and consulting solutions for the dental market. Transaction terms were not disclosed, according to the press release.

Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Spear is a leading dental education provider. The company offers an unmatched breadth of content including more than 5,000 on-demand videos, 300 hands-on workshops annually and more than 100 study club modules. Spear’s learning solutions enable dentists to learn higher acuity skills and generate new revenue streams, providing a high ROI to dental practices and practitioners across the spectrum of experience, according to the news release.

Avista Partner’s Sriram Venkatraman, said that Spear is a compelling investment opportunity given its industry leadership, demonstrated growth potential and diversified business model. 

Kaleim Manji, CEO of Spear Education, said that the company has achieved robust growth over the last several years, with increases in membership and the expansion of our digital content. 

“We are well positioned to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities ahead, against the backdrop of an accelerating industry,” he said. 

Steve Schiess, an Avista strategic executive with over 30 years of experience in the dental industry added that Spear offers dentists a tremendous value proposition. 

“Spear’s education and training courses enable dentists to learn new skills that drive the retention of procedures in-house which, in turn, delivers a high return on their Spear investment,” he said.

Wilkie Farr & Gallagher LLP acted as legal advisor and William Blair served as financial advisor to Avista.

About Spear Education

Spear Education is dentistry’s premier source for continuing education. The company serves dentists of all clinical skill levels and transforms practices and the lives of patients by offering physical hands-on courses, extensive peer-to-peer regional learning, and comprehensive online educational tools.

About Avista Capital Partners

Founded in 2005, Avista Capital is a leading New York-based private equity firm with over $8 billion invested in more than 40 growth-oriented healthcare businesses globally.

Avista partners with businesses that feature strong management teams, stable cash flows, and robust growth prospects – investing in the medical devices, pharmaceuticals, outsourced pharmaceutical services, healthcare technology, healthcare distribution and diagnostics, and consumer healthcare sectors. Avista’s strategic executives and advisors are an integral part of the team, providing strategic insight, operational oversight, and senior counsel, which helps drive growth and performance, while fostering sustainable businesses and creating long-term value for all stakeholders.