HIG invests in Austrian boarding school

The deal was valued at less than €50m. The school's founder, Austrian architect and entrepreneur Alexander Serda, kept his ownership stake in the business. The deal marks the formation of Academos Group, a platform through which the GP intends to establish a group of international schools around the world.

Ther GP told unquote" it was attracted to the performance of the school, both academically and in terms of growth. It plans to further grow the outlet, while setting its sights on acquiring other schools in the European, Latin American, Middle Eastern and Asian markets. HIG believes the private school sector will experience a boom amid struggling state education systems, particularly across Europe.

The deal was sourced directly by HIG, with the GP looking for a school to fit its academic platform.

Company
Founded in 2005, StGIS is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of St Gilgen, Austria. The school houses 250 students in grades 4 to 12, who are taught academic courses in English with other languages on offer. The student body covers more than 25 nationalities.

StGIS is an IB World School and a member of the Council of International Schools, the European Council of International Schools and the Swiss Group of International Schools, and is a registered Cambridge International Centre. The school is led by Michael Chapman.

People
HIG managing director Matthias Allgaier worked on the deal.

Advisers
Equity - Kirkland & Ellis (Legal); PwC (Financial due diligence).
Company - Wolf Theiss (Legal). 

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