SC&H Capital, a leading investment banking and advisory firm, is pleased to announce that its client, 160 Driving Academy (the “Company”), the largest commercial driver’s license (“CDL”) training operation in the United States, has completed the sale of substantially all its assets to a group of incumbent institutional investors.
Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, 160 Driving Academy delivers classroom and behind-the-wheel CDL instruction through a national network of campuses and training yards, serving self-pay students, government-sponsored students, and employer-funded enrollees. Under a new management team, the Company is transforming into a leaner, more digital enterprise while broadening its focus toward general adult vocational training and education.
Facing the prospect of a foreclosure by its senior secured lenders, the Company and its Chief Restructuring Advisor, Novo Advisors, elected to run a market test. With nearly $160 million of funded debt outstanding, all stakeholders still agreed it was prudent to engage a specialist investment bank to confirm the market’s valuation of the Company.
SC&H was retained by the Chapter 11 Trustee and initiated an immediate sale process to preserve the platform’s underlying utility for the nonprofit ecosystem. Despite intense operational pressures and a complex creditor matrix, SC&H successfully managed the expedited marketing and sale process under the strict governance of the federal bankruptcy court and solicited interest from 172 groups that executed NDAs.
SC&H Capital was retained at the end of April 2026 and moved quickly to market on a compressed timeline. In early July the lenders elected to proceed with their Article 9 foreclosure and acquire the assets of the Company, reflecting their conviction in the new management team and its vision for the business.
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