New Harbor Capital Announces Sale of Certica Solutions

New Harbor Capital is pleased to announce the sale of Certica Solutions (“Certica”, “the Company”), an industry leader in K-12 assessment and analytics, to Instructure, the parent company of Canvas LMS and a portfolio company of Thoma Bravo.

Headquartered in Wakefield, Massachusetts, Certica Solutions provides education technology platform, content, and data solutions, which enable K-12 educators and administrators to assess, measure, and improve instructional and organizational performance. Certica’s analytic, assessment, and data management solutions provide a foundation for standards-based learning and assessment, as well as teacher data literacy. More than 1,500 districts use Certica’s solutions in the United States, improving the learning experience for more than 12 million students.

Certica’s earnings more than tripled in less than five years. This growth is credited to strategic improvements in the Company’s go-to market strategy, product development, and leadership team structure. Furthermore, in partnership with New Harbor, the Company completed six acquisitions which propelled Certica into several highly attractive adjacent market segments. These efforts were complemented by continued market developments that favor the Company’s offerings, including the ongoing evolution in student assessment, the acceleration of digital content demand, and the continued proliferation of student data creation and exchange. 

“We are very grateful for New Harbor’s partnership and guidance over the last five years,” said Mark Rankovic, President and CEO of Certica Solutions. “New Harbor’s expertise in strategically building education businesses was critical in achieving our potential. We are excited about the path ahead with Instructure and look forward to helping more students and educators benefit from our rigorous standards-aligned assessment program with rich analytics.”

“We sincerely enjoyed working with CEO Mark Rankovic and the entire Certica Solutions team,” said Justin Marquardt, Partner at New Harbor. “Certica was transformed over the last five years into a true market leader in the education technology space. We have enjoyed supporting them through this growth phase and wish them the best of luck moving forward.”    

Robert W. Baird & Co. represented Certica in the sale process and Kirkland & Ellis, Burns & Levinson LLP, and RSM acted as advisors to the Company.

About Certica Solutions

Certica is dedicated to advancing academic progress and equity in education through measurable improvements in student achievement. Certica’s analytic, assessment, and data management solutions provide a foundation for standards-based learning and assessment, as well as teacher data literacy. Certica serves more than 1,500 K-12 school districts and numerous charter school organizations and educational service agencies.

About Instructure

Instructure helps people grow from the first day of school to the last day of work. More than 30 million people use the Canvas Learning Management Platform for schools and the Bridge Employee Development Platform for businesses. Learn more at www.instructure.com.