Founded in 2001 by brothers Rob and Scott Peyree and later joined by equity partners Tom Peyree, Rob and Scott's father, and John Anderson, a childhood friend of the Peyree's, Education Dynamics, formerly known as WorldClass Strategy, rapidly built a leadership position in online education lead generation by providing high volume, high quality leads to postsecondary educational institutions. As their revenue and profitability surged, they received intense interest from a variety of prospective investors and strategic acquirers in late 2005 and early 2006.

The Challenge

The four partners had the majority of their wealth tied up in the company, and by early 2006 they realized they had an opportunity to receive partial or full liquidity for their company in the capital markets and achieve lifetime financial security. At the same time, the partners were having so much success that they would only consider a transaction that would bring them not only financial security, but also additional strategic resources as well as a partner that would be as committed to their employees' welfare as they were. In April of 2006, the four partners decided to hire Arbor Advisors to help them explore opportunities for liquidity. They were attracted by Arbor's deep knowledge of the online advertising space, their negotiation expertise, and their ability to run a customized process to explore all possible transaction types-the sale of a minority, a majority, or 100% of their business.

The Solutions

Halyard Capital Partners acquired Education Dynamics in May 2007, providing liquidity to Rob, Scott, and Tom Peyree as well as to John Anderson. Halyard's complementary education business and strategic vision were uniquely compelling to the partners.

Arbor Value Add

• Contacted over 100 potential strategic acquirers and financial partners while searching for the ideal partner
• Received four LOIs from potential investors and buyers
• Negotiated an unusually favorable post-deal incentive structure for the founders
• Negotiated a complex transaction structure that met all of the partners' interests
• Helped structure an incentive plan for WorldClass employees so that they could benefit from the transaction