A source with insider knowledge recently claimed that Global private language tutor Education First is considering selling part of its China business. Experts value this particular unit of Education First to be around $2 billion.
As of this writing, Education First is privately held by the family of its founder Bertil Hult. According to sources, the company has employed the services of JPMorgan Chase & Co to assist it in a potential sale. However, there are speculations claiming that the company is still reviewing whether which part of its China business will be put to sale.
Education First has a storied history of operation in China. The company opened its first school in Shanghai in 1993. Currently, the company has teaching centers in more than 50 cities in China. The company offers a wide variety of language courses that cater to children and adults of all ages. The company also offers study tours, according to its website.
One of the people with insider knowledge of Education First said that the company is looking for a private equity investor. The source added that the company is planning to sell its children's business China and it is looking to roll out the stakes in about three months.
Market experts and observers have said that should Education First decide to sell part of its China business, it will most likely attract the interest of a lot of private equity firms. Experts have also pointed out that education assets are particularly attractive to investors as they are usually cash-rich and has stable income which mostly comes from tuition and other fees/
Based on the data released by Refinitiv, Chinese investors have collectively spent $7.8 billion on 64 education deals both at home and overseas in 2018. This is a huge leap compared to its 2017 spending which was pegged at $2.2 billion.
In 2018, China's private education industry was worth about $260 billion. This is according to a note from LEK Consulting. The report also added that this particular market will grow at a pace of around 9 percent within the next two years.
China is widely considered as one of the Education First's biggest market. Majority of the company's business in the country comes from children's language learning programs.
Education first was founded in Lund, Sweden in 1965. Currently, the company has more than 600 schools in 114 countries and regions. The company also runs boarding and business schools in the United States and the United Kingdom.
