ANIM3

Ânima Educação S.A., traded on B3 under the ticker ANIM3, is a private Brazilian education company with a predominant focus on higher education. The company was structured starting in 2003, when its founding shareholders began building an education group through the acquisition of Minas Gerais Educação S.A., the sponsoring entity of Centro Universitário UNA in Belo Horizonte (MG). Over the following years, the group expanded through acquisitions and restructurings of traditional higher education institutions in different regions of the country, integrating academic, administrative, and financial operations. In 2013, the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) granted it registration as a category “A” securities issuer, and an initial public offering of shares was carried out, consolidating Ânima Educação’s position in the Brazilian capital markets.

The company’s inorganic growth trajectory includes the incorporation of institutions such as Unimonte, in Santos (SP), later integrated into Universidade São Judas Tadeu, and the acquisition of UniBH, in Belo Horizonte, which underwent broad academic and financial restructuring. In 2014, the subsidiary Brasil Educação S.A. acquired 100% of the sponsoring entity of Universidade São Judas Tadeu, strengthening Ânima’s presence in the city of São Paulo. In 2015, the company expanded its reach in the South Region by taking over Sociedade Educacional de Santa Catarina (UniSociesc), which operates in multiple cities in Santa Catarina and, for a period, in Paraná. Other relevant acquisitions involved the incorporation of Alis Educacional in Minas Gerais, whose operations were integrated into the UNA brand, and subsequent moves that resulted in the opening of new units in Minas Gerais, Goiás, and Santa Catarina, in addition to the acquisition of institutions with strong regional presence in different Brazilian states.

Ânima Educação’s business model is centered on the provision of private educational services, mainly in higher education, organized in an ecosystem that encompasses undergraduate programs, lato sensu and stricto sensu graduate programs, short courses, executive education, and continuing education programs. The company structures its operations into segments such as Ânima Core, which concentrates most of the on-campus and blended higher education and professional development courses (except medicine); Digital Education, focused on distance-learning undergraduate and graduate programs with intensive use of technology platforms; and Inspirali Educação Médica, a vertical that brings together the group’s medical programs and activities related to its medical ecosystem. Revenue comes mainly from tuition payments by students, supplemented by executive education services, events, and learning solutions for the corporate environment.

On the academic front, Ânima Educação operates a diversified portfolio of higher education brands with a national presence, including UNA, Anhembi Morumbi, UniSociesc, UNIFACS, Milton Campos, São Judas, UNP, UniBH, UniRitter, AGES, UniFG-BA, FADERGS, UniCuritiba, FPB, UniSul, FASEH, UniFG-PE, and IBMR. These institutions offer on-campus and digital courses in different fields of knowledge, including Law, Engineering, Architecture, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Agronomy, and various other technological and bachelor’s degrees. The company’s educational ecosystem is organized around the concept of lifelong learning, through the Ecossistema Ânima de Aprendizagem (E2A), which integrates modular curricula, active learning methodologies, strong interdisciplinarity, and the use of digital platforms, seeking to reconcile standardized academic guidelines with faculty autonomy and alignment with regional demands.

Inspirali Educação Médica is a key pillar of Ânima Educação’s strategy, unifying and developing the group’s medical programs. This vertical emerged from the experience accumulated in projects to implement and restructure medical courses at dozens of higher education institutions in Brazil, and it was strengthened by the company’s participation in public calls under the Mais Médicos Program, which expanded the supply of seats and courses in cities such as Cubatão (SP) and Tucuruí (PA). Inspirali currently brings together thousands of medical students, with a stronger presence in the Southeast and South regions, and also operates in offering solutions for the entire medical training cycle, including undergraduate studies, residency, and continuing medical education. In 2022, a strategic alliance was formed with DNA Capital to bring the medical education ecosystem closer to the healthcare sector, focusing on integration between care delivery, innovation, and professional training.

In addition to traditional higher education activities, Ânima Educação has developed specialized arms in executive education, corporate education, and learning experiences geared toward the business environment. The acquisition and subsequent full control of HSM do Brasil S.A. and HSM Educação S.A. placed the company in a niche of events and business management solutions, organizing conferences, forums, and seminars that bring together senior executives and internationally renowned speakers. The company’s portfolio also includes brands such as HSM University, EBRADI (focused on Law), the Le Cordon Bleu São Paulo Culinary Arts Institute in a joint venture with the French group Le Cordon Bleu, SingularityU Brazil, and the Learning Village innovation hub, in addition to digital joint ventures such as Vivae Digital and Community Creators Academy. These operations broaden the company’s presence in continuing education, short courses, and corporate training segments, interconnected with its undergraduate and graduate portfolio.

Geographically, Ânima Educação has established itself as one of the largest private higher education groups in Brazil, with campuses distributed across 12 states: Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Bahia, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, and Pará, in addition to a network of hundreds of learning centers that support digital and blended learning activities. Revenue is generated mainly in Brazil, with no significant contribution from foreign revenues. There is no concentration in a single client or economic group, as revenue is distributed across hundreds of thousands of students, reducing dependence on any individual customer.

The company’s activities are subject to a broad and detailed regulatory environment, particularly as a private higher education provider under federal oversight. Ânima Educação depends on authorizing and assessment acts by the Ministry of Education (MEC) and associated bodies, such as the National Education Council (CNE), the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research Anísio Teixeira (INEP), and the National Commission for the Evaluation of Higher Education (CONAES), for accreditation and re-accreditation of institutions, course authorization and recognition, periodic renewal of assessments, and participation in specific public programs. In basic education, when present, regulation is the responsibility of state and municipal education boards, in line with Brazil’s federal structure. Ongoing interaction with this regulatory framework is a central part of the group’s operations, as it must maintain academic quality standards, a qualified faculty, adequate infrastructure, and compliance with national education guidelines to sustain its authorizations and expand its presence in the sector.

From a governance and environmental, social, and corporate practices perspective, Ânima Educação operates as a publicly held company, with common shares listed on B3, which implies the adoption of formal management structures, periodic disclosure of information, and compliance with capital market rules. The group also maintains Instituto Ânima and initiatives aimed at producing, promoting, and disseminating cultural and educational content, in addition to engaging in consulting projects, university outreach, and interaction with the public and private sectors in education and innovation. Although its institutional communication emphasizes principles such as social transformation through education, the use of technology in the learning process, and a focus on student employability, the company remains essentially positioned as a private higher education group with a strategy of sector consolidation, diversification of regional brands, and expansion of its student base in on-campus, digital, and continuing education courses, with ANIM3 as the main access vehicle for retail investors to its corporate structure on B3.