Sale of ACE Education and follow-on investment

RNS Number : 2360D

Oakley Capital Investments Limited

28 June 2021

 

28 June 2021

Oakley Capital Investments Limited

Oakley Capital Investments Limited¹ ("OCI") is pleased to announce that Oakley Capital Private Equity III² ("Fund III") has reached an agreement to sell its stake in ACE Education ("ACE") (formerly AMOS), a leading private vocational higher education platform in France and Spain. OCI's share of proceeds will be approximately c.£16 million.

As part of the transaction, Oakley Capital Origin Fund ("Origin Fund") will invest in ACE alongside Groupe Amaury and ACE's founder, Patrick Touati. OCI's indirect contribution via the Origin Fund will be approximately c.£10 million.

Note that the above figures only relate to OCI's share of proceeds and its share of the Origin Fund's overall investment in ACE.

OCI's liquid resources available for future deployment (including this transaction) are estimated to be £ 174 million.

Further details on the transaction can be found in the announcement below from Oakley Capital ³ .

Oakley agrees sale of ACE Education to Groupe Amaury and follow-on investment

Oakley Capital is pleased to announce that Oakley Capital Private Equity III ("Fund III") and other co-investors have reached an agreement to sell their stakes in ACE Education ("ACE") (formerly AMOS), a leading private vocational higher education platform in France and Spain. The exit will generate a gross return on investment of c.2.1x MM and c. 27 % IRR to Fund III.

As part of the transaction, Oakley Capital Origin Fund ("Origin Fund") will invest c.€40 million alongside Groupe Amaury ("Amaury") and ACE's founder, Patrick Touati, to benefit from the strong future growth potential, as well as the significant commercial and strategic benefits Amaury can bring to ACE, given their prominence in the French sports industry.

Fund III first invested in ACE in 2017 through the platform acquisition of AMOS, the leading business school in France solely focused on sports management. Since then, the group has been transformed via three bolt-on acquisitions and five new campus openings. Today, ACE is a diversified higher education group with over 20 campuses and over 4,000 students, and operates under four brands: AMOS, which remains the leading French business school focused entirely on sports management; ESBS, a sports management school based in Valencia, Spain; ESDAC, the largest group of design schools in South East France; and CMH, a leading higher education provider in the hotel management, luxury brand and tourism sectors.

Amaury is the leading designer, producer, and distributor of mainstream sports content in France. Amaury's investment will further reinforce AMOS's position as the leading dedicated sports management business school with all of its stakeholders including applicants, students, and employers in the sports industry. As owners, the Origin Fund and Amaury will benefit from strong growth momentum generated by recently opened campuses, as well as growth in enrolments which are expected to increase at a 12% CAGR over the next 5 years. Together, the owners will look to further expand and diversify the platform through targeted acquisitions.

Peter Dubens, Managing Partner of Oakley Capital, commented:

"We would like to thank the ACE management team for their continued hard work in developing the business and we look forward to the partnership with Amaury, who, given their unrivalled reputation in the French sports industry, will bring valuable experience and industry knowledge to support the growth of ACE."

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For further information please contact:

Oakley Capital Limited

[phone]

Steven Tredget, Investor Relations

Greenbrook Communications Limited

[phone]

Alex Jones / Michael Russell / Catriona Crellin

Liberum Capital Limited (Financial Adviser & Broker)

[phone]

Chris Clarke / Darren Vickers / Owen Matthews

Notes:

LEI Number: 213800KW6MZUK12CQ815

¹  About Oakley Capital Investments Limited ("OCI")

OCI is a  Specialist Fund Segment ("SFS")  traded investment vehicle that aims to provide shareholders with consistent long-term capital growth in excess of the FTSE All-Share Index by providing liquid access to private equity returns through investment in the Oakley Funds ² .

A video introduction to OCI is available at  https://oakleycapitalinvestments.com/videos/

The contents of the OCI website are not incorporated into, and do not form part of, this announcement.

² The Oakley Funds

Oakley Capital Private Equity L.P. and its successor funds, Oakley Capital Private Equity II, Oakley Capital Private Equity III, Oakley Capital IV and Oakley Capital Origin Fund are unlisted lower-mid to mid-market private equity funds that aim to provide 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.

³ Oakley Capital, the Investment Adviser

Founded in 2002, Oakley Capital Limited has demonstrated the repeated ability to source attractive growth assets at attractive prices. To do this it relies on its sector and regional expertise, its ability to tackle transaction complexity and its deal generating entrepreneur network.

Important information

Specialist Fund Segment securities are not admitted to the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority. Therefore, the Company has not been required to satisfy the eligibility criteria for admission to listing on the Official List and is not required to comply with the Financial Conduct Authority's Listing Rules.

The Specialist Fund Segment is intended for institutional, professional, professionally advised and knowledgeable investors who understand, or who have been advised of, the potential risk from investing in companies admitted to the Specialist Fund Segment.

This announcement may include "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements are statements regarding the Company's objectives, intentions, beliefs or current expectations with respect to, amongst other things, the Company's financial position, business strategy, results of operations, liquidity, prospects and growth. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future.  Accordingly the Company's actual future financial results, operational performance and achievements may differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the statements. Given these uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not to place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as at the date of this announcement. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect actual results or any change in the Company's expectations with regard to them or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based unless required to do so by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the Listing Rules or Prospectus Regulation Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority or other applicable laws, regulations or rules.

 

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