Big moves ahead for Kahoot, the Oslo startup that’s built a popular platform for users to create, share and play education-focused “games”, played by billions of students and adults over the years. The company has announced that it is going fully private in an all-cash PE deal at 35 NOK per share, valuing Kahoot at $1.7 billion (17.2 billion Norwegian kroner) based on 492,836,049 shares issued and outstanding.
The private equity division of Goldman Sachs Assets Management is leading the acquisition, with existing Kahoot backers General Atlantic (currently its largest shareholder), LEGO Group’s KIRKBI Invest A/S (“KIRKBI”) and Glitrafjord (controlled by Kahoot CEO Eilert Hanoa) named as the other major shareholders in the deal. Unnamed other investors and management also will have stakes in Kahoot.
The deal represents a premium on Kahoot’s publicly traded shares as of yesterday — specifically 53.1% to the closing price on the Oslo Stock Exchange on 22nd