Talent Garden, an Italian networking and skills development platform, has acquired Hyper Island, a Sweden-based business school specializing in digital education, for an undisclosed amount to become Europe’s leading digital education provider.
Per a press statement, the new deal will address the digital skills gap across Europe, creating programmes at 20 different campuses and online for more than 20,000 students and professionals every year.
Hyper Island is a business school specialising in digital education with a range of accredited, part-time and full-time educational programmes. It targets students and executives of large companies and designs its programmes to provide training that increases knowledge of digital culture and transformation technologies. The company is headquartered in Sweden but has a global presence operating in Europe, Asia-Pacific, North and South America.
Commenting on the acquisition, Davide Dattoli, Co-Founder and CEO of Talent Garden, said,
“Digital Education is the great social and economic challenge of our century. From the outset, we have focused on the value of community, viewing digital training as the way of creating new talent and helping companies face digital transformation. Today, through joining forces with Hyper Island, our project is making a new leap forward. In such an important but fragmented market, we are readier as ever before to act as aggregators and game-changers.”
Founded in Brescia near Milan, Italy, in 2011, Talent Garden is a renowned player in the digital coworking sector, focusing primarily on networking and skills development. The company has been growing considerably in the digital education market recently, providing services to students, professionals, and large European companies. The acquisition of Hyper Island further reinforces its focus on digital education, which accounts for 80% of its business.
The deal, which is reportedly due to be finalised in December – will see Talent Garden acquire a controlling stake in Hyper Island, with the aim of creating a European EdTech alliance that will involve other European digital schools in the future.
The partnership will also result in a group with a solid geographical footprint in Europe with a physical presence in 12 countries (eight already served by Talent Garden and four by Hyper Island), a strong position in the strategic Nordics area, South Europe, and UK & Ireland, and strategic establishments through Hyper Island in Asia-Pacific and the Americas.
