News in brief

n Philanthropist and former financier George Soros is donating $1 billion to fund a new global network of universities designed to promote liberal values and his vision of an open society, The Guardian has reported.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Soras said his new Open Society University Network would build on his Central European University (CEU), which he set up in Hungary after the collapse of communism 30 years ago. Calling it the “most important and enduring project of my life”, Soros said he will fund institutions that resist the drift towards growing authoritarianism in the US, Russia and China.

The CEU was forced to move from Hungary to Vienna after Hungary’s right-wing leader, Viktor Orban, stopped it from issuing US degrees. n Swiss language tutor Education First is talking exclusively to global private equity firm Permira about selling its China operations, in a deal valuing the business at $1.6 billion, The New York Times reported, citing unnamed sources.

Education First is owned by founder Bertil Hult and his family. Last year the company hired JPMorgan Chase & Co to help sell the business, which achieved about $100 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation last year. n Instructure and private equity firm Thoma Bravo entered into an amended merger agreement after Thoma Bravo increased its offer to $49, up from $47.60.

Earlier, the proposed deal had run into trouble after investors balked at the original terms offered for the Salt Lake City, Utah-based firm.

However, educational software company Instructure’s board of directors approved the revised agreement and recommend the company’s stockholders to vote in favour.

J.P. Morgan Securities is exclusive financial advisor to Instructure and Cooley is its legal advisor. Kirkland & Ellis is legal advisor to Thoma Bravo. n McDonald’s restaurants in Indiana and Ivy Tech Community College Indiana signed a deal to make college more affordable and offer training for staff at more than 300 McDonald’s locations and involving 18 Ivy Tech campuses.

Through McDonald’s Archways to Opportunity education programme, restaurant employees who work a minimum of 90 days for15 hours a week will be eligible for tuition assistance of up to $2,500 a year as a crew member and up to $3,000 a year as a manager.

Ivy Tech will offer crosswalk credits to McDonald’s restaurant employees for some on-thejob training and classes, plus individualised counselling – allowing them to earn a degree faster. n Boston-based AdmitHub, the developer of a conversational artificial intelligence platform used by more than 90 educational institutions, has secured investments from Salesforce Ventures and the Google Assistant investment programme.

The funding follows a 2018 Series A round led by education impact investor University Ventures, with participation from Reach Capital, Relay Ventures, and Rethink.

Although the amount of current funding was undisclosed it was revealed that the round brings the company’s total funding over the past year to $7.5 million. n Bangalore-based InterviewBit, a start-up company that provides its clients with an online training module for programming, has raised more than $20 million in a Series A round led by Sequoia India and Tiger Global, with participation by Global Founders Capital and some others.

With the recent round of capital injection, InterviewBit’s valuation stands at $110 million.

The company delivers daily livestreamed classes that allow aspiring software to study remotely. n Toronto-based higher education learning platform Top Hat has raised $55 million in Series D equity and debt financing, in a round co-led by existing investors Georgian Partners and Inovia Capital.

The rest of Top Hat’s existing equity investors also participated, including Union Square Ventures, Emergence Capital and Leaders Fund.

Top Hat makes a number of software tools for teachers in higher education. The company stated that, combined with debt financing from BMO Technology and Innovation Banking Group, this funding will enable it to continue to accelerate the disruption of traditional textbooks and course materials.