Engagement — Platform Due Diligence
Code & Co. provides Tech & Product Due Diligence ahead of ECM’s investment in Academy, a driving school market services provider.
German investment company ECM Equity Capital Management GmbH (‘ECM’), has acquired a majority stake in Ludwigsburg-based ‘ACADEMY Group’, the leading provider of invoicing, factoring, driving instructor training and franchise services in the German driving school market.
Scope of Work
Code & Co. conducted Tech & Product Due Diligence for ECM. This entailed a comprehensive assessment of ACADEMY’s technology foundation, including the architecture, infrastructure and technology stack of its ERP, Fahrschulmanager. Code & Co. also assessed ACADEMY’s product operations and product roadmap, in addition to the engineering team and software development life cycle.
About ECM
With its 25 years of experience, ECM acts as a true partner for management teams and founders in the sustainable development of companies. ECM functions as an active sparring partner and contributes its broad functional know-how, its network and, if required, additional capital. ECM’s focus is on majority investments in medium-sized enterprises with further development and growth potential in the GAS region. They invest across all industries in attractive business models with sustainable competitive advantages and strong market positions. We are looking for motivated, skilled and entrepreneurial management teams.
About ACADEMY Holding AG (‘ACADEMY’)
Headquartered in Ludwigsburg, the ACADEMY Group – with its three business units DATAPART, ACADEMY Fahrschulen and DVPi – is Germany’s leading service provider for the driving school market. DATAPART Factoring has been a proven partner for driving schools for over 25 years. It offers invoicing services and an industry-specific, customised factoring product that is independent of financial institutions. The ACADEMY franchise system – the largest association of independent driving schools in Germany – supports the success of driving schools through a tried-and-tested franchise concept. The driving instructor training centre DVPi, with locations in Frankfurt am Main and Hamburg, completes the Group’s service portfolio. DVPi offers a comprehensive range of training and education for professionals in the areas of driving education, road safety and traffic, transport and logistics. Today, the dynamically growing Group employs around 50 people. Further information at: www.datapart-factoring.de, www.academy-fahrschulen.de, www.dvpi.de