Clifford Chance advises Sanoma on the agreement to acquire Pearson’s local K12 learning content business in Italy

Clifford Chance advises Sanoma on the agreement to acquire Pearson's local K12 learning content business in Italy

International law firm Clifford Chance has advised Sanoma, an innovative and agile learning and media company, on the agreement to acquire Pearson's local K12 learning content business in Italy and its small exam preparation business in Germany.

The acquisition has a perfect fit with Sanoma's strategy to grow its K12 learning business by expanding to new markets through M&A, and it marks Sanoma's entry to Italy, one of the largest K12 learning services markets in Europe. Sanoma reinforces its growth strategy by announcing a strategic growth ambition to increase the Group net sales to over EUR 2 billion by 2030, with at least 75% coming from the learning business. The transaction is expected to be finalised during Q3 2022. Read more about the acquisition.

The Clifford Chance cross-border team was led out of Amsterdam by Gregory Crookes and Rona Nisar, and the core team consisted of Luc van Oosterhout, Olivia Higgs, Shaun Campbell (Corporate), Orsolya Gondos, Jaap Tempelman, Andrei Mikes, Tamlin Higgins (TMT), Michiel Sunderman and Alec Sanderson (Tax) in Amsterdam, Dario Carnazza and Amedeo Sciolari (Corporate) in Milan and Margret Bootz-Hagen (Corporate) in Frankfurt. The wider team consisted of Yvo van Bijsterveld (Corporate), Frans Muller and Jurre Jurriëns (Antitrust) in Amsterdam, Claudia Milbradt, Nicolas Hohn-Hein (IP) and Cord Freiherr von Mandelsloh (Tax) in Düsseldorf, Jörg Rhiel, Michael Nellen, Natalie Hemberger (Corporate), Olaf Mertgen (Tax), Stefan Simon, Ulrike Breidenstein (Employment), Philipp Stoecker and Ahmad Zaheri (Real Estate) in Frankfurt, Simonetta Candela, Marina Mobiglia (Employment), Umberto Penco Salvi, Luca Fulgido, Sara Bettoni, Greta Bilotta (Corporate), Andrea Tuninetti Ferrari, Ludovica D'Alberti, Andrea Sgrilli, Mario Martignago (Tax), Andrea Andolina and Giovanni Minucci (L&DR) in Milan, Luciano Di Via, Antonio Mirabile, Eleonora Zappalorto, Luca Borin and Alessandra Oliva (Antitrust) in Rome and Jemma Dick, Nicola Hemsley and Eli Bursky (Tax) in London.