TPG buys majority stake in Vietnam school, Mekong exits
TPG Capital has agreed to acquire a controlling position in Vietnam Australia International School (VAS), facilitating an exit for existing backers Mekong Capital and Denmark-based MAJ Invest.
Financial details were not disclosed. The private school group was valued at around $67 million in 2010 when it raised a $26 million round. This investment saw Mekong take a 14% stake for $6 million, while local investor FPT Fund Management acquired a 25% interest for $10 million.
MAJ first invested in VAS in 2012, taking a 25% stake. In 2014, it reported the school’s revenue and EBITDA at $34 million and $4.7 million, respectively.
According to a statement, TPG’s 3-5 year plan will include follow-up investment in staff training and efforts to improve teaching-learning activities and school facilities. Meanwhile, an operational expansion is expected to entail additional large-scale campuses in Ho Chi Minh City and other regions, including Hanoi. VAS currently operates across seven campuses in the city
“VAS is a business that is uniquely adapted to the Vietnamese market. Its innovative educational model responds to the needs and preferences of the expanding middle class, and it has a strong brand with great potential for growth,” said Dominic Picone, a managing director at TPG. “VAS is a good example of the type of creative investment opportunities we look for in Southeast Asia, and we believe the business will thrive in partnership with TPG.”
Established in 2004, VAS offers a bilingual kindergarten-to-high school (K-12) program based on an integration of Vietnam’s national curriculum and the Cambridge international curriculum. Introduction of the Cambridge program has been credited with driving growth of the student body, from 4,100 students in 2014 to 6,300 in 2017. It now claims to be the largest private K-12 education group in Vietnam.
TPG, which has more than $74 million in assets globally, has previously been active in Vietnam via its growth investment platform. In 2013, it paid $50 million for a 49% stake in Masan Agriculture. This followed a $35 million commitment in the business’ parent company Masan Group.
The private equity firm also invested $21.5 million in FPT in 2006, but is understood to have since exited its holding in the company. FPT launched a venture capital arm and accelerator unit in 2015 with a $3 million fund.
TPG is currently raising its seventh pan-Asian fund, which has a target of between $4 billion and $4.5 billion.
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