Our Corporate M&A team in Paris has advised leading European education platform AD Education on the acquisition of a majority stake in Spanish creative online school Animum.

Based in Malaga and with students in both Spain and South America, Animum is a fully online school with a focus on digital arts and 3D animation. Its founders will retain a minority stake. AD Education, which specialises in creative higher education, will further strengthen its international growth with this acquisition.

This deal follows multiple acquisitions for AD Education in the past year, including French L'Institut des Médias Avancés, des Arts et des Technologies (IMAAT) in 2021, and Asfored, SAE Institute's European activities and Oktogone in 2022. These transactions enable AD Education to accelerate its digitalisation and strengthen its leading position in higher education with a focus on innovative and creative fields.

Paris Corporate-M&A partner Patrick Mousset advised AD Education on this deal, with Gómez-Acebo & Pombo Abogados partner Fernando de las Cuevas Castresana and associates Clara Rivero Sans and Sergio Gómez López also advising the client on the Spanish legal aspects.

With this deal, Gowling WLG's Paris team consolidates its expertise and strengthens its reputation in the higher education and training sectors, supporting both investment funds and founders in their national and international growth projects.