Willkie advised Ardian on its agreement to acquire a majority stake in AD Education, a European education platform specialized in arts, digital and audiovisual. On December 18, Ardian announced the acquisition of a majority stake in AD Education alongside Kevin Guenegan, founder and CEO of the group as well as the management team. Founded in 2009, AD Education is a leading European higher education platform, pure player in the field of Creative Arts, teaching to more than 15,000 students in 12 schools on 36 campuses in France, Italy, Spain and Germany. AD Education covers 4 main sub-segments: Design & Graphical Arts, Media & Digital, Audiovisual and Culture & Luxury. Over the past 10 years, the Group has established itself as the French leader on its core educational fields, following continued organic growth as well as successful build-ups, and as a sizeable European platform following acquisitions in Italy, Spain and Germany. Within the framework of the partnership with AD Education, Ardian will support Kevin Guenegan and the management team in accelerating both organic and external growth as well as reinforcing its geographical diversification strategy. Thanks to its solid expertise in the education sector and its international network, Ardian holds the financial and human resources to identify and seize growth opportunities and thus support AD Education in its ambitious growth plan. The Willkie deal team was led by corporate partner Eduardo Fernandez and included counsel Gil Kiener and associates Louis Jambu-Merlin, Justine Ricaud and Sarah Bibas, as well as antitrust partner Faustine Viala and associate David Kupka.