(Nov 13): US buyout firm Advent International Corp has put up Singapore’s tutor-chain The Learning Lab for sale, marking its second attempt since 2021 to unload the asset, in part to repay debt, according to people familiar with the matter.

Advent has hired an advisor to kickstart the sale process and plans to offer the company for about US$400 million (RM1.63 billion) to US$500 million, said the people who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. Some of the proceeds will be used to settle a S$265 million (US$206 million or RM842 million) private credit facility jointly provided by KKR & Co Inc, HPS Investment Partners and Nomura Holdings Inc in 2023 and which will mature next year, they said.

Representatives for Advent, KKR and Nomura declined to comment. HPS didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Private money has been pouring into schools in Asia in recent years as investors seek to profit from growing demand for quality education. Financiers such as Apollo Global Management Inc and KKR & Co Inc have bought stakes and lent to school chains, hoping that a growing number of rich people in the region would fuel expansion.

But private equity and venture capital investment in education services in Asia slumped 87% to US$240 million last year, according to S&P Global, citing more rigorous deal selection and the potential impact of artificial intelligence on the sector. Another key challenge is the backlog of private equity firms seeking to exit companies they’ve bought into.

Advent invested in The Learning Lab in 2014, but there has been no publicly available information on how much stake it holds. People with knowledge of the matter said Advent fully owns the learning company.

The Learning Lab provides education for preschool, primary, secondary and junior college students in Singapore, according to its website. It also has online services for other Asian markets including Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. In Singapore, the company charges about S$702 a month for its junior college programmes.

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