Good morning, Hubsters. MK Flynn here with a jam-packed Wire on a busy Thursday morning. Today, we begin with a look at Riverside’s latest deal in education technology. Then we’ve got an interview with Tarrus Richardson, founder and CEO of IMB Partners, about DEI. This is part of a series we’re launching today for Black History Month. And we’re asking for your input as we plan the Private Markets Investor Summit 2024. Let’s get to it! EdTech. Education technology is a subsector I’ve been monitoring closely over the last few years. There was a surge of deals in the space during the height of the pandemic, when all learning went online. The deal activity slowed down over the last year, but yesterday a transaction was announced that caught my eye. The Riverside Company, headquartered in New York and Cleveland, invested in Eduthings, a Richmond, Texas-based provider of software for career and technical education (CTE) administrators, teachers and students, for undisclosed terms. Eduthings is an add-on investment to Riverside’s platform, iCEV, a Lubbock, Texas-based developer of digital curriculum, instructional materials and industry certifications for the CTE market. The deal marks Riverside’s fourth add-on investment for the iCEV platform. In 2022, iCEV bought Applied Educational Systems, Today's Class and DroneCurriculum.net. Moving the needle. As we celebrate Black History Month, PE Hub is featuring interviews about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) with private equity professionals who are Black. Today, we are launching the series with a Q&A with Tarrus Richardson, the founder and CEO of IMB Partners, a Bethesda, Maryland-based private equity firm that focuses on utilities and government contracting. IMB stands for Investors in Minority Businesses, Richardson told PE Hub’s Obey Martin Manayiti previously. “We are intentional and unapologetic about trying to find ways to build, buy and/or grow minority or women-owned businesses,” Richardson said. Here's an excerpt from Obey’s current interview with Richardson: Over the last couple of years, PE firms have talked a lot about making the industry more inclusive. In your view, how are PE firms doing when it comes to DEI? If you had to give the industry a letter grade on this today, what would it be? It’s difficult to assign a letter grade to diversity, equity and inclusion for PE firms. The conversations are happening, but the data and industry reports show a need for a more progress. I have been an inclusion advocate for years, and since the murder of George Floyd, I participate in more conversations about inclusion in professional circles. There are more initiatives and organizations meeting to address DEI within the industry, and steps are moving in the right direction. But we know the industry struggles to grow the representation of ethnic and racial minorities, gender minorities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as individuals raised in low-income households. The needle will start to move when recruiting delivers more diverse groups of junior and senior PE professionals. That’s something we prioritize at IMB and where we hope to see the industry land. We’ll have more Black History Month Q&As throughout February. Help us shape next year’s summit! Private Equity International will be hosting the Private Markets Investor Summit 2024, a major networking event for LPs and GPs in North America in early 2024. As we plan the event, we’d love your input. Please share your thoughts by taking our survey. The survey takes no longer than 5 minutes to complete, and your insights will directly shape the format, content, and overall experience of the Private Markets Investor Summit 2024. To thank you for your time, each respondent will receive a complimentary copy of Private Equity International’s LP Perspectives Report 2023. Many thanks in advance for your participation! Tomorrow, Obey will wrap up the week in Friday’s Wire, including a new “listicle” of deals. Cheers, MK Read the full wire commentary on PE Hub ... | 