So here's how private equity firms play musical chairs with companies: KKR & Co. (KKR) is about to take a seat that TPG Inc. (TPG) is vacating. According to reports, KKR has agreed to buy a controlling stake in Singapore-based XCL Education Holdings for roughly $1.3 billion, beating out a pack of other interested buyers.
Think of it as a high-stakes auction where the prize is a network of schools across Asia. TPG, the current majority owner, was looking to sell, and firms like Warburg Pincus, Blackstone, and EQT AB were all reportedly kicking the tires. But KKR came in with the winning bid. The exact size of the stake and the finer financial details haven't been made public, but the headline number puts the entire company's enterprise value at that $1.3 billion mark.
What is KKR buying, exactly? XCL Education isn't just one school; it's a portfolio operator of K-12 institutions. Its roster includes the XCL World Academy in Singapore, the Sukhumvit campus of the American School of Bangkok, and the Vietnam Australia International School. It's a play on the growing demand for private education in the region.
For KKR, this isn't a new playground. The firm has been building a portfolio in the education sector for a while, with previous investments in India's Lighthouse Learning, Taylors Education Group, and Vietnam's EQuest Education and Vinschool Education Systems. This latest deal fits right into that strategy.
The transaction isn't quite done yet—it still needs regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other standard closing conditions. But if all goes smoothly, KKR will soon be the new majority owner steering this fleet of schools.
