CeriFi, a Portfolio Company of Leeds Equity Partners, Expands into Tax and Accounting Exam Preparation and Continuing Education with Acquisition of Fast Forward Academy

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Aug 04, 2021, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CeriFi, a Leeds Equity Partners portfolio company, today announced the acquisition of Fast Forward Academy (the "Company"), a leading provider of tax and accounting exam preparation and continuing education courses. Founded in 2010, Fast Forward Academy helps candidates pass the Enrolled Agent ("EA") and Certified Public Accountant ("CPA") exams as well as assists tax and accounting professionals in meeting federal and state continuing education requirements. Fast Forward Academy represents the ninth acquisition for CeriFi, a leading provider of financial education, training and certification solutions to the financial services industry. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"Fast Forward Academy has built an impressive portfolio of tax and accounting exam preparation and continuing education courses that enable students and professionals to pass their exams, maintain their licensing requirements and excel professionally," said Matthew Given, CEO of CeriFi. "We are excited to leverage these market leading products in combination with our diversified product suite, world-class learning platform, robust infrastructure and talented team to further address the needs of our financial services customers."

Rain Hughes, CEO of Fast Forward Academy, said "CeriFi shares our deep commitment to excellence, including delivering the best learning outcomes in the industry. I could not be more excited for Fast Forward Academy's future as part of CeriFi, which continues to change the game in financial services training through investment and innovation."

"The acquisition of Fast Forward Academy further expands CeriFi's education and training product suite, and importantly, uniquely positions CeriFi as the only market player that can holistically address the needs of students and professionals across the financial services industry. We look forward to continuing to execute on our growth and innovation strategy, both organically and through add-on investments," said Eric Geveda, Managing Director at Leeds Equity Partners.

Polsinelli served as legal counsel to Leeds Equity Partners. ForsterBoughman served as legal counsel to Fast Forward Academy.

About CeriFi:
CeriFi, formed in 2017, is a diversified education, training and certification provider serving professionals across the financial services market. To-date, CeriFi has acquired nine highly complementary companies, including Dalton Education, Money Education, Keir Financial Education, Pass Perfect, the CFP assets of LoneStar Financial Education, the Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists, Bionic Turtle, CPMI and Fast Forward Academy.

For additional information on CeriFi, see http://www.cerifi.com/.

About Fast Forward Academy:
Fast Forward Academy has helped candidates prepare to take and pass EA and CPA exams and has helped tax and accounting professionals meet federal and state continuing education requirements since 2010. Fast Forward Academy provides companies and individuals around the world the tools to efficiently manage professional education needs with superior, personalized learning content. The Company's review materials and continuing education courses provide a full suite of e-learning textbooks, video lectures, question banks and practice exams to prepare candidates and professionals.

For additional information on Fast Forward Academy, see https://fastforwardacademy.com/.

About Leeds Equity Partners:
Leeds Equity Partners is a New York-based private equity firm dedicated exclusively to partnering with management teams in the education, training and information services industries (the "Knowledge Industries"). The firm was founded in 1993 and has managed approximately $3.9 billion of capital across a broad spectrum of companies within the Knowledge Industries. Leeds Equity seeks to leverage its sector-focused expertise and market insights to create long-term value for its partner companies.

For additional information on Leeds Equity Partners, see http://www.leedsequity.com/.

For More Information:
Jeffrey T. Leeds
Tel. 212-835-2000
Fax: 212-835-2020
www.leedsequity.com

SOURCE Leeds Equity Partners, LLC