Watermark and TCV Close on Strategic Investment to Accelerate 2018 Growth

NEW YORK, April 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Watermark, the largest provider of assessment software for higher education institutions worldwide, has announced the close of its agreement with TCV to acquire a controlling interest in the company. TCV is one of the largest providers of capital to growth-stage private and public companies in the technology industry and has backed industry-leading technology companies, including Airbnb, Capella Education, EA, EmbanetCompass, ExactTarget, HomeAway, Netflix, Spotify, and Zillow. In addition, Quad Partners and Watermark's management team have reinvested alongside TCV and are joined by new investor Exceed Capital Partners.

Watermark provides educational intelligence systems to over 1,100 higher education institutions worldwide, including a majority of the top 200 U.S. News & World Report colleges. Watermark continues to grow rapidly, with over 50 institutions joining the Watermark community or expanding their use of Watermark across the institution so far this year, including top universities such as Syracuse University, Princeton University, Michigan State University, and Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia. With over 300 employees supporting these partner institutions, Watermark will use TCV's investment to continue its growth trajectory as well as accelerate development of its innovative educational intelligence platform.

"We're excited to have TCV as a financial partner. With a deep understanding of and experience in the education technology and software/SaaS markets, TCV will help us to welcome more clients to our community and to continue building solutions these institutions need to drive meaningful improvements in institutional effectiveness, program quality, and student learning," said Watermark CEO Kevin Michielsen.

Assisting in the close, global independent investment banking firm Evercore advised Quad Partners, and investment banking firm Tyton Partners advised TCV on the transaction.

About Watermark
Watermark's mission is to put better data into the hands of administrators, educators, and learners everywhere in order to empower them to connect information and gain insights into learning which will drive meaningful improvements. Through its innovative educational intelligence platform, Watermark supports institutions in developing an intentional approach to learning and development based on data they can trust. For more information, visit www.watermarkinsights.com.

About TCV
Founded in 1995, TCV provides capital to growth-stage private and public companies in the technology industry. Since inception, TCV has invested over $10 billion in leading technology companies and has helped guide CEOs through more than 110 IPOs and strategic acquisitions. TCV's investments include Airbnb, Altiris, AxiomSL, Dollar Shave Club, EmbanetCompass, EtQ, ExactTarget, Expedia, Facebook, Fandango, GoDaddy, HomeAway, LinkedIn, Netflix, OSIsoft, Rent the Runway, Sitecore, Splunk, Spotify, Varsity Tutors, and Zillow. TCV is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, with offices in New York and London. For more information about TCV, including a complete list of TCV investments, visit https://www.tcv.com/.

Contacts:
Victoria Guzzo
Director of Corporate Communications
708.588.1735
[email protected]

TCV
Katja Gagen
Marketing
415.690.6689
[email protected]

SOURCE Watermark