Bain makes Australia education bolt-on

Financial details have not been disclosed. According to The Australian Financial Review, the deal is worth as much as A$150 million ($115 million) and was funded in part by a recent A$250 million debt refinancing package for OAC agreed with Goldman Sachs.

Bain acquired OAC in 2016 in a deal that was said to be worth some A$400 million. The company, which had about 40 early education facilities at that time, plans to absorb Little Learning’s portfolio of 20 childcare centers.

Founded in 2002 and rebranded under its current name in 2012, OAC operates in Australia’s premium childcare and education market through the provision of customized playing environments, curriculum, activities, and nutrition programs.

Little Learning was founded in 2004 and offers similar upmarket services with a focus on quality of education. Courses include language education in Mandarin and Japanese, as well as a range of cultural and physical education niches such as yoga.

Bain was blocked last year from executing a similar merger between its portfolio company Camp Australia and Junior Adventures Group (JAG), a company controlled by Advent Partners.

The proposed merger would have established an entity with more than 1,000 educational facilities across Australia. Bain and Advent withdrew their application after government authorities expressed concern about loss of competition resulting in higher prices for consumers.

Camp Australia, an after-school sport coaching specialist with some 780 locations, was acquired by Bain for an undisclosed sum shortly after the firm’s OAC investment in 2016. At the time, the business was said to have also attracted interest from KKR.

MinterEllison acted as legal advisor for the Little Learning acquisition.

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• Topics
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• Education
• M&A