Cinven buys Inseec U in €800m deal

The business was valued between €800-825m, according to press reports. A source familiar to the situation has confirmed to Unquote that the range was correct.  

Cinven and Apax France declined to comment on the financial details of Cinven's auction-winning bid.

Apax France released a statement confirming it has entered into a binding agreement to sell Inseec U.

BPI France, a minority investor in the business since 2016, will continue to support the development of the business in the years ahead, according to a statement. 

Last summer, Cinven approached Apax with an unsuccessful €750m offer and later tried to secure exclusivity during the first round of the Rothschild-led auction, Mergermarket previously reported. Despite having stepped back from the process in the second round, Cinven, came back and eventually secured the deal, says Mergermarket.

The other bidders shortlisted in the second round of the auction were Carlyle, BC Partners and Wendel, Unquote has learned.

Debt
Goldman Sachs has provided financing for the transaction, providing a term loan and second lien, Debtwire reported.

Leverage is expected to be around 7x, which implies a total drawn debt quantum of around €427-434m, according to Debtwire.

The newswire further reported that leverage pitches on senior and second lien packages ranged from 5.8-7x, with the first lien coming at between 4.5-5.25x. Moreover, all senior pitches were in the 5-5.8x range, while unitranche was between 5.9-6.4x.

Debtwire added that views on EBITDA varied greatly, with earnings used for calculations coming in as low as €53m or as high as €63.3m, compared to the marketed €63m figure.  

Previous funding
Apax France acquired Inseec U from listed US player Career Education Corporation in a €200m deal in 2013. At the time, the business was known as just Inseec (Institut des hautes Études Économiques et Commerciales). The transaction was completed via Apax France VIII, which closed on €700m in 2011. The GP had been on the lookout for investment opportunities in the higher education sector for several years, and this was the GP's first investment in the sector.

Under Apax's ownership, the business accelerated its growth in different ways, including broadening the course base, expanding the range of programmes offered, pursuing a buy-and-build strategy, and opening campuses in San Francisco, Shanghai and Geneva, according to the statement by Apax France.

BPI France has been a minority investor in the business since 2016, when Laureate Education sold some of its schools to Inseec U. 

Company
Founded in 1975, Inseec U is a private higher-education group, offering specialised education in several areas, including luxury goods, wine and spirits, digital marketing, and sports management courses.

Based in Paris, the business registered a €220m turnover in 2018, Mergermarket reported.

The group operates 16 schools, including some in the US, the UK and China, and caters to 25,000 students, according to a statement by Apax France.

People
Inseec U – Catherine Lespine (CEO).
Apax France – Bertrand Pivin (partner).

Advisers
Equity – Messier Maris & Associés (corporate finance).
Vendor – Rothschild (corporate finance).

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• Topics
• Exits
• Buyouts
• France
• Consumer
• France
• Cinven
• Apax France SA
• Secondary buyout