Bridgepoint picks Macquarie for sale of Cambridge Education Group

Josh O'Neill
15 July 2022

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Bridgepoint has appointed Macquarie to oversee its exit of Cambridge Education Group's (CEG) private equity backer, a UK-based pathway programme provider, five sources familiar with the situation said.

The company is expected to be marketed off EBITDA of GBP 10m-GBP 15m, according to the first three sources. The final figure will ultimately depend on CEG's 2023 budget, a sixth source familiar added.

Macquarie is slated to launch the sale of CEG towards the end of this year, or early in 2023, according to the first, second and sixth sources.

CEG recorded underlying EBITDA of GBP 3.3m in the year ended 31 August 2021, down from GBP 7.8m a year prior, filings with Companies House show. The decline was chiefly a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which restricted flows of international students globally, the company said.

The sell side is expected to position CEG's e-learning division, CEG Digital, as a crown-jewel asset within the group's portfolio that has performed well amid the pandemic, the second source said. CEG also offers blended learning via its medical education subsidiary iHeed, as well as in-person pathway courses, geared to international students, through ONCAMPUS and Castel.

Bridgepoint's intention to exit CEG was first reported in February by EducationInvestor Global, in an article that did not name Macquarie as sellside advisor. The sponsor could look to carve out CEG Digital and sell it separately, the article stated.

Founded in 1952, CEG provides pre-university education to more than 4,000 students from over 95 countries and is a provider of academic, creative and English-language programmes in the UK.

Bridgepoint and Macquarie declined to comment.