Navitas sells tech business for $60m

Prominent education stakeholder Navitas has sold its student application software business for $60 million to Nasdaq-listed Flywire Corporation.

Global payment and software company Flywire signed off on the $60 million deal to acquire the business StudyLink, which is a cloud-based admissions software for students studying abroad.

Navitas was a major shareholder in StudyLink after first investing in 2006.

It comes after the Perth-based group reported a $131 million net loss on revenue of $780.6 million for the year ending June 30, dipping into the red after last year’s profit.

But Navitas emphasised that previous year’s revenue and profitability were boosted by a $152 million divestment of its SAE creative media institute operations in Europe and the UK.

Navitas chief executive Scott Jones said they were proud of StudyLink’s growth, particularly in the past few years of expansion.

“This innovative business was ahead of its time when Navitas initially invested and created the market for a cloud-based application and enrolment solution for international students in Australia,” he said.

“This valuable deal reflects the considerable success StudyLink has had in penetrating the international education market and its potential for future growth and expansion.”

StudyLink founder and chief executive Jason Howard said Navitas had been a critical stakeholder and customer allowing the business to grow.

“We are also thrilled to be joining the Flywire team to help deliver even greater value to clients, agents and applicants and to expand our solution globally,” he said.