Oakley-backed Inspired makes 3 school acquisitions

RNS Number : 6259J

Oakley Capital Investments Limited

13 September 2016

 

13 September 2016

Oakley Capital Investments Limited

Oakley-backed Inspired makes three further school acquisitions

Oakley Capital Investments Limited¹ (AIM:OCL, OCL, the "Company"), has today been informed that Inspired (www.inspirededu.co.uk), a leading premium schools organisation in Europe, Australia, Africa and Latin America, has completed the acquisitions of the International School of Europe Group ("ISE"), St Louis School ("St Louis") and St John's International School ("St John's").  Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P. ("Fund I") and Oakley Capital Private Equity II ("Fund II") both hold indirect interests in Inspired via their key shareholdings in Educas (www.educasinternational.com).

The additions of ISE, St Louis and St John's will expand Inspired's global network to a total of 23 schools, providing an outstanding education to over 15,000 students.  As part of Inspired's family of international schools, students and staff at these newly added schools will benefit from the support of world-leading educational experts and access to state of the art learning platforms.

The International School of Europe Group, founded in 1958 by the Formiga family, is a leading group of schools in Italy with over 1,800 local and expatriate students between the ages of 3 and 18 years old in Milan, Modena, Monza and Siena. ISE is one of the leading International Baccalaureate ("IB") schools in Europe.

St Louis School is a leading day school in Milan, Italy, which provides an outstanding education to over 1,000 local and expatriate students between the ages of three and 18 years old.  It has achieved an average IB result of 37 (the maximum being 45) in 2016 placing it at the top of the IB rankings in Europe.

St John's International School was founded in 1964 by the Faithful Companions of Jesus and is a leading international school in Brussels, Belgium.  St. John's provides an outstanding education to 700 students between the ages of two and eighteen years, representing more than 60 nationalities.

These latest transactions mean that, since the initial platform investment in Reddam House in July 2013, OCL has indirectly invested, through its participation in Funds I and II, a total of €43m in Inspired, helping to take Inspired from 4 schools initially to 23 schools today.

Peter Dubens, Director of OCL, commented:

"These three latest acquisitions in Italy and Belgium further enhance Inspired's position as a leading international schools group. We are delighted to be working with Nadim Nsouli and his team of leading educators in the ongoing development of the Inspired business, which continues to go from strength to strength based on its strong educational model and deep management expertise".

Nadim M. Nsouli, Founder & Chairman of Inspired and Educas, commented:

"We look forward to welcoming the students, parents and staff of St John's, St Louis and ISE into our family of schools. We believe that these three acquisitions represent an exciting development for Inspired and look forward to working with the respective leadership teams to build upon these schools' impressive history of providing families in Belgium and Italy with world class international education"

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For further information please contact:
Oakley Capital Investments Limited	[phone]
Peter Dubens (Director)
FTI Consulting LLP	[phone]
Edward Bridges / Stephanie Ellis
Liberum Capital Limited (Nominated Adviser & Broker)	[phone]
Steve Pearce / Steve Tredget

¹About Oakley Capital Investments Limited ("OCL")

Oakley Capital Investments Limited is a Bermudan based company listed on AIM. OCL seeks to provide investors with long term capital appreciation through its investment in Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P., Oakley Capital Private Equity II, Oakley Capital Private Equity III and, over time, through co-investment opportunities.

²About Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P. ("Fund I"), Oakley Capital Private Equity II ("Fund II") and Oakley Capital Private Equity III ("Fund III")

Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P. and its successor funds, Oakley Capital Private Equity II and Oakley Capital Private Equity III, are unlisted mid-market private equity funds with the aim of providing investors with significant long term capital appreciation. The investment strategy of the funds is to focus on buy-out opportunities in industries with the potential for growth, consolidation and performance improvement.

About Inspired

Inspired (www.inspirededu.co.uk) is a leading premium schools organization in Europe, Australia, Africa and Latin America. Inspired's expansion is backed by Educas (www.educasinternational.com), an education investment firm founded by Nadim M Nsouli.  Following these latest acquisitions, Inspired's global network comprises a total of 23 schools, providing an outstanding education to over 15,000 students.  These schools are spread across countries in four continents, including the UK, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, South Africa, Kenya, Australia, and Colombia.

About Educas

Educas was founded by Nadim M. Nsouli, a former senior partner at Providence Equity Partners, the largest global private equity firm focused on media, communications, education and information investments. Educas has a strong focus on 'Buy & Build' opportunities in the Education sector and partners with family owned businesses and management teams to achieve transformational growth.

 

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