KKR invests $120m in Vietnam school operator
KKR has invested USD 120m in Vietnam school operator EQuest Education via its global impact fund. The deal comprises a combination of debt and equity.
The private equity firm has been active in impact investing since 2018 when it closed its debut fund for the strategy on USD 1.3bn. In 2020, it recruited Chee-Wei Wong, formerly of US-based Tailwind Capital, as its head of global impact for Asia, who suggested that as much as one-third of the fund corpus could be deployed in the region.
KKR invested an undisclosed sum in EQuest in May 2021. This precipitated EQuest's acquisition of a controlling interest in Khoi Nguyen Education Group (KNE), the operator of several international schools in Vietnam, last December.
The bolt-on appeared to set up an exit for Excelsior Capital, which had invested KNE as recently as September 2021. EQuest and KNE said they would share financial and operational resources, including best management practices.
EQuest is considered one of the leading education players in Vietnam with more than 362,000 students across its various institutions. This compares to about 110,000 at the time of KKR's initial investment.
The core business is a portfolio of at least 10 K-12 bilingual schools, although there are also significant operations in the form of various tertiary and vocational institutions, English enrichment courses, and digital learning services. The company's online resources are used by some 400 primary and secondary schools nationwide.
The latest investment will be used to expand the campus network of Broward College Vietnam, which currently offers four-year US bachelor's degree programs in Hanoi, Hue, and Ho Chi Minh City. It will also support a similar buildout of the Canadian International School (CIS) system. CIS, the largest international K-12 school in Ho Chi Minh City, was acquired as part of the KNE acquisition.
"This substantial investment will position CIS as the most financially robust international school system in Vietnam, ensuring long-term financial stability without compromising on the highest educational standards," Tham My Linh, a managing director of CIS, said in a statement. "This will instil strong confidence in parents seeking a holistic international education for their children."
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