News
Keystone acquires studddy and expands student reach in Europe
Keystone Education Group (Keystone) has expanded its European reach by acquiring German online student search and discovery experts studddy.
Studddy, formerly TarGroup Media, launched in 2010 as an online study guide for prospective students in Germany and Austria. Following expansion over the past 13 years, studddy has become the market leader for domestic student recruitment within the region. It attracts over 12 million visitors each year to its websites.
Strengthen footprint in Europe
– We are excited to boost our offering to German students and strengthen our footprint in the European market with studddy joining the Keystone family, says Fredrik Högemark, CEO of Keystone Education Group.
– Studddy shares a lot of the same values as we do – most notably, the goal of finding young people their first-choice education. Their drive for supporting students through the recruitment process and ensuring university classrooms are filled with the best-fit students aligns perfectly with our vision at Keystone. Making this the perfect match, he continues.
Similar founding stories
– Coupled with Keystone’s powerful global reach across student search, and through our European student recruitment agencies, this new partnership will not only strengthen our position in Europe but also improve our service as a provider of end-to-end enrollment generation solutions for the global market. Ultimately, a highly valuable offering for institutions wanting to recruit students from within the region, both domestically and internationally, says Högemark.
– We are very pleased to have found a partner in Keystone whose founding story is almost identical to ours. We have both grown from a single study portal to a multinational company focused on helping millions of young people make the right study choice every year, says the Founder of studddy, Milan Klesper.
Stronger offerings for students
– Thanks to Keystone’s worldwide network, we can now introduce prospective students to even more study options – whether studying in Germany and Austria, studying abroad, or even potentially studying with a sports scholarship at an American university, continues Milan Klesper.
– For our customers – our partner universities and education providers – it means we can offer even more support so that they can reach potential students across all channels and geographies.
We are excited that studddy joins Keystone, strengthening our position in the german domestic student recruitment market. This acquisition fits perfectly with our growth journey, says Jostein Vik, Partner at Viking Venture.
Market leader for domestic student recruitment in Germany, the Nordics and UK
The German higher education market comprises over 3 million students, including 350,000 international students.
With this acquisition, Keystone furthers its position as the market leader for domestic student recruitment in Germany, the Nordics, and the UK. This investment follows the acquisition of UK-based UniQuest and FindAUniversity in 2021, as well as SONOR and Blueberry agencies in the Nordics.
About Keystone Education Group
Keystone is trusted by more than 110 million students annually, helping them pursue higher education. The company helps over 5500 education institutions reach, recruit, and enroll prospective students. They serve in more than 190 countries across 460 student websites, including Masterstudies.com, Bachelorstudies.com, Educations.com, Studentum.se, and FindAMasters.com.
In, addition, Keystone operates a range of global student recruitment services across UniQuest, Blueberry.nu, SONOR, and Keystone Sports. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, Keystone is backed by Viking Venture and Verdane, two leading Nordic venture firms. With offices across the Nordics, Germany, and the UK, Keystone has an international staff of over 650 employees.
About studddy
studddy (formerly known as TarGroup Media) founded in 2010, now operates in more than 30 portals in Germany and Austria. Their software enables those interested in education to choose the right degree program or training, or further education. Around 12 million visitors inform themselves about full-time, part-time, and dual study programs annually. For universities, continuing education providers, and companies, studddy is the first port of call for reaching and convincing their target group online. In Germany, for example, studddy work closely with over 95% of all private universities.
Header image: Fredrik Högemark, CEO of Keystone Education Group