CLSA Capital Partners backs Japan school operator

Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed, but BC Ings founder and CEO Hiroki Tanaka is expected to retain a minority stake, according to a statement. Sunrise II primarily targets leveraged buyouts with enterprise values of JPY5-15 billion ($46-138 million).

The capital will be used to pursue growth initiatives for an existing portfolio of 68 cram schools at the elementary, junior high and high school levels. Current management and operational policies are expected to remain in place, as is the company's well recognized Tanaka Gakushukai brand.

"As education has become increasingly important in Japan, we believe BC Ings is well positioned to capture robust growth in the future and we are honored to take part in this capital alliance opportunity," said Megumi Kiyozuka, CLSA CP's head of Sunrise. "This is a significant milestone for Sunrise II and BC Ings' management team to achieve further growth backed by Tanaka Gakushukai's superior teaching methods and passion."

Since its establishment in 1990, BC Ings has grown to encompass about 180 employees providing extracurricular educational services across the Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures. It reported JPY3.5 billion in sales for the 2015 fiscal year.

CLSA CP claims about $3 billion in assets under management and operates offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo. It closed Sunrise II in 2014 with $210 million of commitments from LPs in the US, Europe and Japan. Previous investments by the Japan-dedicated fund have included the $20 million purchase of online used-car auctioneer BCN and a majority stake acquisition in automotive tool retailer Worldtool.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Expansion
• Consumer
• Japan
• CLSA Capital Partners
• Education