KV Asia backs MBO of Malaysian education group

This is the seventh investment from the private equity firm’s debut fund, which closed at $263 million in 2013 and writes equity checks of $25-75 million.

APIIT Education Group comprises Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU), a private university with more than 11,000 students from 110 countries; Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT), which offers professional training in IT-oriented fields; and Asia Pacific Schools, a K-12 education provider catering to more than 1,500 students.

Ekuinas acquired a 51% stake in APU and APIIT from Sapura Resources in 2011, paying MYR102 million. In 2016, the Malaysian government-linked investment group agreed to buy Sapura’s remaining interest in the two institutions – plus related education assets – for MYR247 million. It also agreed to purchase a 37.6% stake in APIIT Sri Lanka.

The Malaysia-based assets were consolidated under APIIT Education Group, which became part of ILMU Education Group, an Ekuinas-owned entity that has nearly 35,000 students across Malaysia and Sri Lanka. ILMU also owns Cosmopoint Group, UNITAR International University, APIIT Sri Lanka, and Tenby Schools. Revenue came to MYR421.3 million in 2016.

Plans to list ILMU were shelved last year. Ekuinas CEO Syed Yasir Arafat Syed Abd Kadir said a strategic review found that the sum of the parts valuation was greater than the valuation for the business as a whole. As such, the focus switched to selling off the assets piece by piece.

“We are very pleased to support the high-caliber and dedicated management team of APIIT Group to invest in the leading education group that they have built. We will continue to help the management team achieve their vision to further enhance the quality of education and outcomes for the students and grow APIIT Group,” Karam Butalia, executive chairman and co-founder of KV Asia, said in a statement.

KV Asia concentrates on mid-market investments across Southeast Asia. Last year, the firm sold Singaporean nursing home services provider Orange Valley Healthcare to a local media company for about S$164 million ($117.5 million). It has also exited Aalst Chocolate.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Buyouts
• Consumer
• Trade sale
• Malaysia
• KV Asia
• Ekuinas
• Education