Brussels, Belgium, April 22, 2022

Merodis, an independent corporate finance advisory firm, is pleased to announce it has successfully advised the shareholders of Uitgeverij Averbode/Editions Erasme on the sale to Plantyn. This creates a group with a combined experience of 170 years that is even better equipped to build the educational solutions that schools, teachers and students can use to shape the future.

Uitgeverij Averbode/Editions Erasme is a leading player in the Belgian educational publishing market, founded over 100 years ago in the lap of the Norbertine Abbey of Averbode. Thanks to its unique offering in the youth magazines segment with iconic titles such as Doremi, Zonnekind, and Zonneland in Flanders and Bonjour, Dauphin and Tremplin in Wallonia, Averbode has been able to build a strong brand name and identity among the younger generations in both language regions of the country. Today, the lion’s share of revenues (58%) is generated by the sale of educational books.

Plantyn has been one of Belgium’s leading educational publishers for over 70 years. It produces and distributes educational materials for all forms of (regular) education and offers the world of education, digital solutions for school administration and educational software. Plantyn is part of Infinitas Learning, a European player that provides the education sector in the Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium with educational materials, with a strong digital focus. Plantyn is active in Flanders as well as in the French-speaking part of the country. On 9 June 2021 Infinitas Learning, the parent company of educational publishers Plantyn (Belgium), Noordhoff (Netherlands), Liber (Sweden) and LeYa (Portugal), became the property of the Dutch family company and private equity firm NPM Capital.

The merger of Plantyn and Averbode/Erasme creates a group with a unique combination of strong brands and a particularly complementary offering. This joining of forces will allow to focus even more on qualitative, comprehensive learning solutions that use a healthy mix of media and platforms. Together they have the experience and expertise needed to develop innovative learning methods and learning platforms that give both pupils and teachers the right levers to allow education to evolve with society. The new company’s goal is to continue to play a leading role in the development of learning solutions that help teachers and learners on an individual and group level.’, according to Plantyn management.

For more information, please contact:

Steven Meuldermans
sme@merodis.com, +32 494 57 36 98
Arnaud Goossens
ago@merodis.com, +32 473 53 04 66