Willkie is representing Ardian and its portfolio company AD Education, a leading European higher education platform, in exclusive negotiations to acquire Pôle Léonard de Vinci, a higher education provider in France.

AD Education recently announced that it entered into exclusive negotiations with Pôle Léonard de Vinci, which manages four leading higher education institutions: a business school, EMLV (Ecole de Management Léonard de Vinci); an engineering school, ESILV (Ecole Supérieure d'Ingénieurs Léonard de Vinci); a digital school, IIM (Institut de l'internet et du multimédia); and a continuing education institution (De Vinci Executive Education). In 2023, Pôle Léonard de Vinci served 10,000 students in its three schools and its continuing education program.

The acquisition would consolidate AD Education's position in the higher education sector and expand its offerings into the business and engineering verticals.

Willkie previously advised Ardian on its investment in AD Education in 2020, and on AD Education’s subsequent acquisitions of Oktogone Group and the European operations of SAE Institute.

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house, managing or advising $166 billion of assets.

The Willkie team is led by partners Eduardo Fernandez and Gabriel Flandin and includes partner Faustine Viala and associates Tala Ayoub, Hugo Kerbib, Maud Boukhris and Jordan Pontal.