CeriFi, a Leeds Equity Partners portfolio company, today announced the acquisition of Spidell Publishing, Inc. (”Spidell” or the “Company”), a leading provider of tax continuing education seminars, webinars and subscription-based tax publications. Founded in 1974, Spidell helps tax professionals meet continuing education requirements and stay informed on developments in federal and state tax law. Spidell represents the tenth acquisition for CeriFi, a leading provider of premium financial education, training and certification solutions to the financial services industry. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“We are thrilled to have completed our acquisition of Spidell and look forward to working closely with Lynn, Renee and the rest of the Spidell team to continue to build on their successes across the tax education and publications markets,” said Matthew Given, CEO of CeriFi. “The commitment they have shown to excellence in all of their educational and research services is reflected in the outstanding outcomes they help produce.”
Lynn Freer, President of Spidell, said, “CeriFi is a trusted partner to financial services firms and professionals, and has a reputation for delivering quality learning experiences that drive strong outcomes. I am excited to combine Spidell’s expert team with its deep commitment to tax professionals and CeriFi’s broad team and resources.”
“Spidell’s future as part of CeriFi is bright. CeriFi shares our deep commitment to delivering the best learning outcomes in the industry and continues to transform financial services training through investment and innovation,” said Renee Rodda, Vice President of Spidell.
“The acquisition of Spidell deepens CeriFi’s tax education and training product suite, and uniquely positions CeriFi to address the needs of tax professionals seeking to maintain their licensing requirements and excel professionally. We will continue to leverage our unique and highly actionable set of opportunities to continue to drive growth both organically and through add-on investments,” said Eric Geveda, Managing Director at Leeds Equity Partners.
Polsinelli served as legal counsel to Leeds Equity Partners. Snell & Wilmer served as legal counsel to Spidell.
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 Spidell
Spidell has provided premier federal and state tax research and education solutions since its founding in 1974. Spidell offers its continuing education courses in seminar, webinar and self-study formats. Along with a unique online tax research product, Spidell provides online and print tax research newsletters and books to help professionals maintain licensing requirements and deliver high-quality tax services. Spidell’s products and services have been used by over 23,000 tax professionals including Certified Public Accountants, Enrolled Agents, attorneys, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS™ and tax preparers. Learn More
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