Baring Asia, Altas buy $750m stake in Grenada university
Baring Private Equity Asia, alongside Canadian private equity firm Altas Partners, has acquired a substantial stake in St George's University, a Grenada-based medical school.
The financial details were not disclosed but media reports put the deal at around $750 million. According to a source familiar with the situation, the university founder Chancellor Charles R. Modica will remain the single largest shareholder in the business alongside senior management.
Founded in 1976, St George's has programs in both medicine and veterinary medicine. It is one of a number of Caribbean schools that are a popular among students unable to get a place at medical school in the US. The university has more than 6000 students enrolled, and over 14,000 former graduates practicing in over 50 countries worldwide - most of whom are involved in primary care.
More than two-thirds of the students in the school's four-year MD program are US citizens with the majority returning to the US for residency programs. However, the school says it is looking to expand its global reach and attract more students from places like Africa and parts of Asia.
The demand for high-quality medical education overseas is high. Meanwhile, the number of open slots at US schools is dwarfed by the number of applications those schools receive. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, fewer than 42% of the 48,010 medical school applicants in the US actually enrolled.
The university plans to use the extra capital to expand its student's resources, support its research and undergraduate programs, add international capabilities and enhance relationships with its hospital and university partners. At the moment, the school has affiliations with over 70 teaching hospitals and clinical centers, principally in the US and the UK, which take in students for third- and fourth-year clinical rotations which pave the way for residency placements.
According to a source, there are more than one million medical school applicants across Asia every year and it is expected the Baring will leverage its education capabilities throughout the region to help St George's University broaden its reach.
Baring previously invested in UK-listed Nord Anglia, paying $379 million in a take-private transaction in 2008. The company then later listed in New York Stock Exchange this year raising $304 million. The company already had most of its business in Asia at the time of investment but over the holding period Baring helped the company more than triple in size and enter other markets in Asia, Europe and the the Middle East.
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