M&A activity snapshot
Trade-school M&A is thin in count but active in intent. The public operators are growing quickly: Universal Technical Institute reported fiscal 2025 revenue of $835.6 million, up 14.0%, and 29,793 new student starts, up 10.8%. Lincoln Tech grew revenue 17.8% to $518.2 million in 2025.
Enrollment demand underpins buyer interest. The National Student Clearinghouse found vocational-focused public two-year colleges grew enrollment 11.7% (+91,000) in spring 2025, the third straight year of growth. In fall 2025, mechanic and repair majors at two-year schools grew 10.4%.
Recent named deals include UTI's purchases of Concorde Career Colleges from Liberty Partners and MIAT College of Technology, and Argosy Private Equity's controlling investment in Heavy Equipment Colleges of America. No major data provider publishes a trade-school deal count. See the Education & Child Services overview for sector-wide volume.
Who is buying
Public postsecondary operators. UTI buys schools to add program lines. Concorde brought allied health: about 7,400 students on 17 campuses in 8 states. Concorde's revenue grew 19.3% in fiscal 2025. Lincoln Tech is growing by opening campuses instead: it operates 22 campuses in 12 states and has signed leases for two more.
Lower-middle-market PE. Argosy, a lower-middle-market firm, bought control of Heavy Equipment Colleges of America and named the school's relationships with the VA and its accreditor, ACCSC, as a key differentiator.
Workforce and staffing platforms. CDL schools attract buyers that need the graduates. Palladium-backed TransForce bought United States Truck Driving School, its eleventh acquisition under Palladium's ownership. Consumer driving schools are covered under Driving Schools.
What buyers look for
Programs tied to jobs with openings. Buyers favor programs where graduates are hired fast. BLS projects about 40,600 openings a year for HVAC technicians, 72,700 for electricians and 109,700 for medical assistants.
Title IV and 90/10 headroom. Federal aid is most of the revenue. About 84.7% of Lincoln's 2025 revenue came from Title IV programs, on a cash basis. UTI's schools ran between 67% and 82% under the current 90/10 calculation. A school near 90% leaves the buyer no room.
Outcomes that pass federal tests. Under the Gainful Employment rule, a program that fails the debt-to-earnings or earnings test in two of three consecutive years loses Title IV eligibility. Default rates are less telling right now: UTI's institutions posted a three-year cohort default rate of 0% for 2020-2022, which its 10-K ties to the pandemic pause on federal loan payments.
What makes a strong company
A trade school that draws premium interest usually shows:
- Institutional accreditation (for example ACCSC) in good standing, with no show-cause orders or probation.
- 90/10 results with clear headroom below 90%, including VA and other federal funds.
- Completion and placement rates documented by program, with employer hiring partners.
- Programs that pass Gainful Employment debt-to-earnings and earnings tests.
- Start growth from more than one program, so one occupation's cycle does not drive enrollment.
- State approvals current in every state where it enrolls students.
Valuation and deal structure
Trade-school multiples are disclosed in only a few deals. UTI paid a $50.0 million base price for Concorde, $48.1 million in cash after adjustments. Concorde had about $180 million of revenue and $13 million of adjusted EBITDA in 2021, so the price was roughly 0.28x revenue and 3.8x EBITDA by Axia arithmetic. MIAT sold for $26 million in cash against about $25 million of revenue and $3.5 million of adjusted EBITDA in 2020, roughly 7.4x EBITDA by Axia arithmetic.
Sector-wide data is a loose reference only. R.L. Hulett reports 2025 Education & Training median multiples of 12.6x EV/EBITDA for PE deals and 6.0x for strategic deals, from a small, global sample. Owners can test their own numbers with the valuation tool.
Regulation shapes structure. Each deal needs accreditor, state and ED approval, and ED can add conditions to the temporary provisional program participation agreement after a change in control. After both UTI deals, ED barred the schools from adding new programs or locations until it reviewed audited financials under the new owner. Buyers price that growth pause in, and often tie part of the price to regulatory approvals.
Outlook
Expect more buyer interest through 2027, driven by enrollment and new federal funding. Workforce Pell opens Pell grants to programs of 150-599 clock hours lasting 8 to under 15 weeks that meet 70% completion and placement thresholds. Short certificate schools that qualify gain a new revenue line.
Accountability is tightening at the same time. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed July 4, 2025, adds earnings benchmarks that condition degree programs' federal aid eligibility. Schools with weak graduate earnings will be harder to sell. Schools with strong outcomes should command more interest.
Own a trade or career school? Run the valuation tool, or read how independent sponsors build deal flow.