Providence in lead for CHAMP's Study Group
US-based media and entertainment-focused Providence Equity Partners is reportedly front runner to acquire Australian education-services provider Study Group International from CHAMP Private Equity, six months after the latter first considered taking the company public.
The asset, estimated to be worth up to A$600 million ($523.6 million), will garner its final bids by Friday, reports note. Providence has materialized as the leader to acquire the business months after competing strategic bidder Kaplan Professional dropped its bid for Study Group. Sources further speculate that Bain Capital and Apollo Group have also quit the bidding process.
CHAMP acquired the business from the Daily Mail Group in 2006 for A$176 million ($157 million). Earlier this year, Study Group had appointed Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank to manage an ultimately abortive listing process. Providence's portfolio largely consists of media and communications companies: however, it has invested in education-focused businesses in the US, including the Education Management Corporation, Edline and Archipelago Learning.
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