KKR seeks US$500 million loan for Singapore-based XCL Education stake buy: sources
The proposed five-year loan carries a 300 basis point margin over the benchmark SOFR rate
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[SINGAPORE] KKR & Co is seeking a US$500 million loan to back its acquisition of a majority stake in Singapore-based school operator XCL Education Holdings, according to people familiar with the matter.
The proposed five-year loan carries an interest margin of 300 basis points over the benchmark Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), the people said, who asked not to be named discussing private matters. BNP Paribas, DBS Bank Holdings, HSBC Holdings, ING Bank and Standard Chartered are leading the financing, they said.
Discussions with banks are ongoing and terms could change, the people said. Representatives for KKR and DBS declined to comment, while BNP Paribas, HSBC, ING Bank and StanChart did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Private money has been pouring into schools in Asia as investors look to profit from rising demand for quality education.The booming market is increasingly catching the eye of private financiers, which bought stakes and lent to school chains in a bet that a growing class of upwardly mobile families will fuel expansion.
KKR outbid other investment firms for the stake held by TPG, in a deal valuing the South-east Asian school operator at about US$1.3 billion. XCL had previously drawn interest from Warburg Pincus, Blackstone and EQT AB, among others, people familiar with the matter said in December.
XCL runs K-12 school campuses across South-east Asia, including XCL World Academy in Singapore, the American School of Bangkok’s Sukhumvit campus, and Vietnam Australia International School, according to its website. Its other shareholders include Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings
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KKR invests widely in education, backing firms including Lighthouse Learning in India, Taylor’s Education Group in South-east Asia, and Vietnam’s EQuest Education and Vinschool. BLOOMBERG
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