Singapore-based Academic Capital Partners, a newly launched private equity firm, is aiming to raise up to $300 million for its first fund, the ACP Education Opportunities Fund. This fund will focus on acquiring school assets across Asia and the Middle East, capitalizing on the high demand for quality education from affluent families in these regions. The firm is targeting a 5% distribution yield for investors.
The firm is co-led by Atul Temurnikar, who is the founder of Global Schools Group, an international school network, and Vishal Thapliyal, a former partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. The general partner of Academic Capital Partners will commit 5% of the fund's capital. Fundraising is expected to commence in approximately two weeks, with an initial close anticipated in the first quarter of 2027.
Academic Capital Partners plans to deploy the capital from its inaugural fund to acquire K-12 education assets that have earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) ranging from $1 million to $5 million. Their target markets for these acquisitions include Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
This initiative comes amidst a broader trend of significant private investment into Asian schools. Investors like Apollo Global Management Inc. and KKR & Co. Inc. have previously acquired stakes and provided financing to school chains, betting on the expanding number of wealthy individuals in the region to drive growth. For instance, Temurnikar's Global Schools Group, which is independently operated from ACP, secured $190 million in funding from Apollo in 2023, following an earlier investment in 2021. Global Schools Group currently serves approximately 45,000 students across 64 campuses in 11 countries.
