CeriFi, a Leeds Equity Partners portfolio company, today announced the acquisition of Pass Perfect, the leading provider of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) license exam training to the financial services industry. Founded in 1988, Pass Perfect partners with leading financial institutions to ensure employees are effectively trained for and in compliance with FINRA licensure, rules and regulations. Pass Perfect represents the fourth acquisition for CeriFi, a leading provider of financial education, training and certification solutions to the financial services industry. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Ed Fleur, President of Pass Perfect, said “I am very excited to partner with Leeds Equity and join CeriFi. Our goal has always been to provide the best quality content and learning outcomes in the industry. Leeds Equity and CeriFi offer us the financial and strategic support to continue to innovate and grow in an evolving market.”
“After several years of discussions, we are excited to partner with Ed and the Pass Perfect team,” said Jacques Galante, Managing Director of Leeds Equity Partners. “The acquisition of Pass Perfect represents a further step in Leeds Equity’s strategy of building the premier education, training and certification provider focused exclusively on the financial services industry.”
Eric Geveda, Principal of Leeds Equity Partners, said “Pass Perfect broadens CeriFi’s training and certification solutions, thereby enhancing its position as the best in class provider of lifelong learning for financial services professionals. We intend to continue to expand CeriFi’s product offering to more holistically address the needs of financial institutions through organic and acquisition initiatives.”
Polsinelli served as legal counsel to Leeds Equity Partners. Morrison Cohen served as legal counsel to Pass Perfect.
About Leeds Equity Partners
Leeds Equity Partners is a New York-based private equity firm dedicated exclusively to partnering with management teams in the education, training and information services industries (“the Knowledge Industries”). The firm was founded in 1993 and currently manages over $4 billion of capital across a broad spectrum of companies within the Knowledge Industries. Leeds Equity seeks to leverage its sector-focused expertise and market insights to create long-term value for its partner companies and investors. Learn More
About CeriFi
CeriFi is a diversified education, training and certification provider serving professionals across the financial services market. CeriFi’s broad suite of products delivers mission-critical results to individuals and professionals across the accounting, financial analysis, financial crime, financial planning, financial risk management, insurance, legal, securities licensing and tax industries. To date, CeriFi has acquired fourteen highly complementary companies, including Dalton Education, Money Education, Keir Financial Education, Pass Perfect, the CFP assets of LoneStar Financial Education, the Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists, Bionic Turtle, CPMI, Fast Forward Academy, Spidell Publishing, MarkMeldrum.com, Solomon Exam Prep, Checkpoint Learning and West LegalEdcenter. Learn More
About Pass Perfect
Pass Perfect is a leading provider of FINRA licensing exam training to the financial services industry. Founded in 1988, Pass Perfect has successfully trained over 1 million securities professionals with its proprietary FINRA exam preparation solutions. Pass Perfect offers a comprehensive solution offering that is differentiated based upon its superior quality of content and unique interactive learning technology. Learn More
About Dalton Education
Dalton Education is a leading provider of Certified Financial Planner (CFP) education and exam preparation solutions. Dalton Education’s CFP education course is a 9-month course that satisfies the requirements to sit for the CFP exam and its exam preparation course is a 2-month course that prepares students to take the CFP exam. Dalton Education provides its high-quality CFP education in partnership with leading university partners. Learn More
About Money Education
Money Education publishes digital textbooks and several reference workbooks for tax and financial planning with titles such as “Fundamentals of Financial Planning,” “Insurance Planning” and “Income Tax Planning”. Learn More
About Keir
Keir is a leading provider of training solutions for professionals looking to pass financial and insurance certification exams. Founded in 1968, Keir’s textbooks and review courses prepare financial services professionals for the CFP, FINRA and several property and casualty examinations. Learn More