(Aug 20): A newly launched private equity (PE) firm is seeking up to US$300 million (RM1.22 billion) for its debut fund to acquire school assets across Asia and the Middle East, the latest attempt to capitalise on demand from rich families for quality education.

Singapore-based Academic Capital Partners is led by Atul Temurnikar, founder of Global Schools Group, a network of international schools in Asia, and Vishal Thapliyal, a former partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. Its ACP Education Opportunities Fund targets a 5% distribution yield, with the general partner committing 5% of the fund’s capital, the document shows.

Thapliyal said the fundraising will start in about two weeks, when asked about the plans. The company is aiming for an initial close of fundraising in the first quarter of 2027, he said.

Private money has been pouring into schools in Asia as investors look to profit from a booming market for better 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.

ACP aims to deploy money from its inaugural fund to acquire K-12 education assets whose earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization range from US$1 million to US$5 million, according to the document. Its target markets are Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

Temurnikar-founded Global Schools Group attracted US$190 million in funding from Apollo in 2023, nearly doubling the initial financing it received in 2021. Global Schools Group, which is independently-run from ACP, has around 45,000 students in 64 campuses across 11 countries including Japan and South Korea, according to its website. Earlier discussions on the sale of a minority stake had valued the firm at more than US$1 billion.

Uploaded by Felyx Teoh