Wilson Language Training (“Wilson”) announced it has been recapitalized by Alpine Investors (“Alpine”). Wilson is the leader in K-12 supplemental literacy programs, providing comprehensive, multisensory structured literacy instruction and support to students and literacy educators across the U.S. Alpine is a people-driven private equity firm that is committed to building enduring companies by working with, learning from, and developing exceptional people. This transaction is the successful culmination of an initiative led by Bigelow LLC.
Founded in 1985 by Barbara and Edward Wilson with the goal of improving instruction for students with dyslexia, Wilson is a pioneer and leader in championing the science of reading and continues to empower administrators, teachers and students in pursuit of its mission. For over more than three decades, Wilson has trained nearly 300,000 educators, and certified over 25,000 teachers nationwide in the Wilson Reading System® ("WRS"), the company’s industry leading teacher certification program that prepares teachers to implement WRS with individuals with dyslexia who struggle to read and spell.
Wilson has advanced its vision of “Literacy for All” through multisensory structured literacy programs and professional learning, backed by a commitment to the science of reading and implementation. Wilson is an expert in the field of dyslexia and a forerunner in delivering foundational skill instruction for students in K-3 general education classrooms and those beyond elementary grades who struggle to read and spell. The Wilson Reading System®, Fundations®, and Just Words® programs build a solid foundation for beginning readers and reduce the literacy gap for struggling students, including those with dyslexia. Wilson Co-Founders Barbara and Edward Wilson will remain significant equity owners with ongoing leadership roles in the company, as well as members of the Wilson Board of Directors.
“We are incredibly excited about the future of Wilson as we continue to expand our ability to reach more students, teachers and administrators in pursuit of our vision of achieving ‘Literacy for All.’ With Alpine, we are thrilled to have found a long-term partner that is not only completely aligned with our mission and conviction in structured literacy and the science of implementation, but that also has extensive experience partnering with education and founder-led companies like ours. Going forward, Alpine will provide us with the added resources, knowledge, and expertise to continue to meet the evolving needs of our customers as we extend the impact we can have across the education community. ” Barbara Wilson, Co-Founder Wilson Language Training
Alpine is a San Francisco-based private equity firm specializing in investments in companies in the software and services industries. Its PeopleFirst strategy includes a CEO program which allows Alpine to bring leadership to situations where additional or new management is needed post-transaction. Demand for Wilson’s programs is accelerating significantly due to the increased national recognition of programs founded in the science of reading and the continued introduction of new state dyslexia laws across the country. Through this new partnership, Alpine will provide the support, expertise, and resources to help Wilson increasingly scale its impact to meet the growing demand for its programs and professional learning services from educators and districts across the country. Alpine is currently investing out of its $2.25 billion eighth fund.
“Barbara and Ed Wilson have built an exceptional company, and we look forward to helping them continue to advance their high-quality program pedagogy, professional learning and commitment to implementation science that have helped countless students learn to read and write over the last three decades. We have a deep respect for Wilson’s mission, vision and culture and are excited to partner together to further invest in their people, programming, professional learning, technology and COMPASS Plan delivery so that they can continue to increase the impact of their mission for students and educators.” Dan Sanner, Founding Partner Alpine Investors
Originally established in 1935, Bigelow LLC is widely known as the M+A Advisory Boutique that deals exclusively with private Entrepreneur Owner-Managers. Bigelow has a reputation for having a unique understanding of the special requirements of the owner-managed, entrepreneurial operating company in building and ultimately capturing Enterprise Value.