Carlyle Goes Back To School, Pays 20M Tuition
Today it was announced that Carlyle will take a minority stake in NeWorld Education, a network of 60 plus language schools in China.
More likely to make it through regulatory hurdles, the placement of 20 million USD into this privately held group is an interesting play given it already has a significant chunk of Wall Street Institute, one of China’s leaders in this space. See more on this interesting conflict here.
Interestingly enough, I have been working on a similar project (children’s education), and it is one of China’s best markets right now. English teaching is the single greatest field for foreigners in China now (due in part to the Olympics), and there are job postings everywhere… Nanjing, Wuhan, Chongqing, etc.
to the heart of this deal, Carlyle is investing in a significant player, but there are few things that I would be very interested in learning more about:
1) Will regulators look at this deal more closely due to their current position in WSI, and is it possible that these conflicting investments could lead to future troubles ahead
2) Is Carlyle headed for a Danone – Wahaha style implosion? What level of control does Carlyle have, and will NeWorld make life difficult if WSI starts to expand into areas that are areas NeWorld has an interest in
3) What is the exit? Merger or IPO? Is NeWorld being set up as a roll-up into WSI, or will it IPO out like New World Oriental?
If anyone out there is a former NeWorld teacher or student, let us know what you think of your old alma mater. Is it worth the 20 million?
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