Tribal Group is a leading provider of education software and services. : A Bristol education software firm has been acquired by Ellucian, a private equity-backed US software company, in a deal which could reach the value of £172m. Tribal Group works with tertiary education, schools, government and state bodies, training providers and employers, in more than 55 countries. Ellucian hopes the acquisition will expand its global reach in key markets and accelerate adopted of SaaS for tertiary education institutions world wide.