LLR Partners Announces New Investment in Avenues: The World School

January 31, 2011

LLR Partners has made a growth capital investment in Avenues: The World School, an education organization developing a system of premier pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade private schools in major cities around the world. LLR is partnering with Liberty Partners and the Company’s founders as part of a $75 million financing to help fund the opening of Avenues’ flagship campus in Manhattan, as well as future domestic and international sites.

Avenues, which was founded in 2009 by Benno Schmidt, the former President of Yale University; Chris Whittle, the founder of the Edison Schools (now EdisonLearning); and Alan Greenberg, the former publisher of Esquire, will open its flagship campus in fall 2012 in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. Over the next 10 years, the Company plans to open more than 20 campuses within major cities across the world.

“We are excited about the opportunity to partner with education visionaries such as Chris, Benno, and Alan and be a part of what will become an exceptional, global educational experience,” says LLR Partner Seth Lehr, who will join the Company’s Board along with David Stienes, Principal at LLR.

“We are excited to offer parents what we see as a truly unique vision,” says Chris Whittle, CEO of Avenues. “In many of the world’s largest cities, the demand for high quality education greatly outstrips the supply. Avenues’ schools will provide students with the tools they need to be successful in this increasingly global world.”