Acquired: 2018
Exited: 2021
BERKS Announces Sale of ISSA

BERKS Group Announces Sale of International Sports Science Association (ISSA) to Tailwind Capital

Kansas City, MO, March 1, 2021 – The BERKS Group (BERKS) announced today it has sold International Sports Science Association (ISSA) to Tailwind Capital (Tailwind).  Harris Williams served as advisor on the transaction.

ISSA is a premier eLearning platform to the global fitness and wellness industry.  To date, ISSA has trained more than 300,000 students in more than 140 countries, all while continuing to develop greater access to opportunities that promote a healthier world.

“We are very proud of ISSA’s explosive growth while in BERKS Group’s portfolio,” said Brian Bradley, BERKS  president.  “BERKS Operating Partner Doug Krebs and ISSA’s leadership team joined forces to build ISSA into a leader in the fitness and wellness certification industry.”

ISSA achieved nearly 50% revenue growth over the past three years through a combination of organic growth and the acquisition of National Council for Certified Personal Trainers (NCCPT).

“ISSA is an excellent example of our commitment to partner with strong management teams and provide them the investment capital to grow,” said Krebs. “We look forward to watching ISSA’s continued growth and to expanding the BERKS portfolio with additional education technology investments.”

The BERKS Group is a diversified family of companies with holdings in education technology, high-value precision manufacturing, technology infrastructure, and better-for-you consumer brands.  The Bradley family also owns the News-Press & Gazette Company which has media holdings in digital, broadcast television, radio and publishing.

“We are optimistic about the future and have a high level of confidence in our teams. We will continue to seek strong management teams in growth businesses to invest and help them reach their strategic objectives,” said, Eric Bradley, BERKS owner.  

BERKS continued to invest throughout 2020 in spite of the pandemic .  It added two companies to its precision manufacturing platform. Later this year,  BERKS will complete a major expansion of its edge-data center, 1623 Farnam located in Omaha, NE.

Harris Williams is an investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, advocates for sellers and buyers of companies worldwide through critical milestones and provides thoughtful advice during the lives of their businesses. Harris Williams is a subsidiary of the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC).

For more information Contact:
Doug Krebs
BERKS Operating Partner
Doug.krebs@npgco.com
816-236-6214
www.BERKSGroup.com