Learn about the most important M&A transactions that have taken place in 2017 in the Education sector in Spain. We also analyse the purchase of companies of the Kids&Us English language academies for children by the private equity fund Corpfin.
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Find out about the most important M&A transactions that have taken place in 2017 in the Education sector in Spain. We also analyse the acquisition of the Kids&Us English academies for children by the private equity fund Corpfin.
Kids&Us English is a company specialising in English language teaching centres for children. Its learning methodology is based on the natural process of mother tongue acquisition, an infallible process that takes place in a determined, natural and spontaneous order in the first years of a child's life.
Founded 15 years ago and headquartered in Manresa (Barcelona), the chain has 376 teaching centres, all of them franchised. In Spain it has 319 academies and the remaining 57 are in France, Italy, Belgium, Andorra, Czech Republic, Morocco and Mexico.
Kids&Us' expansion plan includes as its main objectives the opening of more than 200 new centres in the markets in which it already operates and the entry into other European countries and emerging countries in Latin America and Asia (the first new country in which it will land is Japan in April next year), with the aim of reaching 200,000 students by 2020.
Kids&Us franchises generate a combined turnover of over €84M, employ nearly 3,000 professionals and teach 115,000 students.
The Spanish venture capital fund Corpfin has acquired a majority stake in the shareholding of the Kids&Us English academies for children. With majority control of the company, the fund will drive the national and international expansion process that Kids&Us is currently undergoing.
Although neither the percentage acquired by Corpfin nor the amount of the acquisition have been disclosed, we do know that the operation has consisted of a share deal. Kids&Us had been looking for a partner for more than a year to further accelerate its growth plans. According to some sources, the owners had considered other offers before opting for Corpfin.
The transaction allows the fund controlled by Carlos Lavilla and Patrick Gandarias to enter the education business, in which it did not have any investee until now. In fact, the type of business and its strong development potential give Corpfin an added advantage when it comes to pursuing international expansion. For their part, the founders of the chain, philologist Natàlia Perarnau and economist Quim Serracanta, will maintain a minority stake and will continue to run the business.
The Spanish fund has articulated this acquisition through its fourth investment vehicle, which closed with commitments of €255M. In addition to Kids & Us, Corpfin has 6 investees in its investment portfolio: Elastorsa (production of rubber mixtures); Palex (distribution of medical equipment); Arenal (perfumeries); Secna (production of dyes for the food industry); Grupo Preving (occupational safety and risk prevention); El Fornet (sale of cafeteria and bakery products); Sinaer/Volotea (aircraft maintenance); Bravo (manufacture of parts for the automotive sector) and Grupo 5 (socio-health).
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