Brave Bison’s new deal signals rising EdTech trend
Brave Bison’s acquisition of MiniMBA, the online marketing education business founded by professor Mark Ritson, marks a significant strategic expansion into the professional training space for the UK-based digital media and marketing group.
The £19m deal, announced Wednesday, is AIM-listed Brave Bison’s largest to date.
It follows a string of acquisitions, including Social Chain and SEO agency Builtvisible, positioning the group to offer clients support, education, and strategic development.
Founded in 2016, MiniMBA provides MBA-level training in marketing, brand and general management to over 6,000 professionals annually.
The business, which has trained around 40,000 delegates worldwide, works directly with marketers as well as firms such as Google, Nestle, McDonald’s, and Salesforce.
Education as a growth lever
The MiniMBA will sit within a newly formed “skills and capabilities” practice at Brave Bison, operating independently under chief executive Tim Plyming.
Ritson will remain involved as a lead educator and has invested £4m into Brave Bison as part of the deal, becoming one of its top five shareholders.
The acquisition is expected to increase Brave Bison’s pro-forma net revenue by 43 per cent to £36.5m, and adjusted EBITDA to 80 per cent to £8.1m.
It will be funded via a £10m revolving credit facility and a £13.5m equity placing.
This move reflects broader industry trends, where demand for upskilling and marketing education is growing among brands.
Rather than building AI products or automation tools, Brave Bison, which is backed by both Luke Johnson and Lord Ashcroft, is investing in human capital – positioning MiniMBA as a long-term asset to help clients build in-house strategic growth.
Signals from a maturing EdTech market
The deal also reflects a maturing of the EdTech sector in professional services, where short-form, high quality training aimed at corporate teams is increasingly seen as a value capability.
With Ritson continuing to teach and the platform maintaining its independence, Brave Bison is aiming to combine MiniMBA’s academic credibility with its own digital and commercial infrastructure.