CIC Partners Celebrates Successful Partnership and Growth of American College of Education

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CIC Partners (“CIC”), a leading middle-market private equity firm, is pleased to announce the successful realization of its investment in American College of Education (“ACE”). Following a strategic partnership initiated in 2020, ACE has entered its next chapter of growth with a newly announced investment from Bain Capital Double Impact.

Since CIC’s initial investment, ACE has solidified its position as a leader in affordable, high-quality online education. During the partnership, the college expanded its program offerings and significantly increased student enrollment, degree offerings, and sustainability. ACE has served more than 52,000 alumni over its 20-year history.

“Working with CIC Partners has been a transformative experience for ACE,” said Tom Evans, Chairman of ACE. “I want to specifically thank Bayard Friedman and Marshall Payne for their engagement and dedication to our mission. Their strategic guidance and support were instrumental in driving value across the enterprise and positioning us for this transition.”

The investment highlights CIC’s commitment to partnering with owner-operators to deliver compelling customer value propositions.

“We are incredibly proud of what ACE has accomplished under Tom Evans’ and Geordie Hyland’s (President & CEO) leadership,” said Bayard Friedman, Managing Director at CIC Partners. “This investment delivered an exceptional return for our investors because ACE’s high-quality, affordable education attracted significantly more students to enroll. That focus on maximizing student ROI led to outstanding commercial success.”

Marshall Payne, Partner at CIC Partners, added, “We have known Tom Evans for many years and were excited to join him in the original buyout of ACE five years ago. We seek to build deep and lasting relationships with exceptional executives like Tom, and we are thrilled that he has become a CIC Operating Partner and look forward to working with him in the future.”

The transaction was completed in Q4 2025. The financial terms of the private transaction were not disclosed.

About CIC Partners

CIC Partners is a middle-market private equity firm that invests in growth-oriented, owner-operator-led companies across sectors, with a particular focus on the food, consumer, and industrial industries. CIC manages the personal capital of its investment team, operating partners, and strategic investors and seeks to partner with owner-operators, founders, and management teams. CIC looks for opportunities where it can leverage the collective experience of its team and investors—many of whom are successful CEOs and entrepreneurs—to guide, support, and add value to portfolio companies. Based in Dallas, Texas, the firm has been generating wealth for its investors and management teams for over 30 years. For additional information, please visit cicpartners.com.

About American College of Education

American College of Education (ACE) is an accredited, fully online private college specializing in high-quality, affordable programs in education, business, healthcare, and nursing. Headquartered in Indianapolis, ACE offers more than 60 innovative programs for adult students to pursue degrees from the bachelor’s to the doctoral level.