Hillhouse Investment has struck a deal to acquire Dulwich College International schools in Asia from their owners in a deal that could fetch around $600 million, two sources with knowledge of the matter said.
The investment firm founded by China-born dealmaker Zhang Lei has emerged as the final bidder for the schools and reached an agreement with Education in Motion (EiM), which owns and operates Dulwich College International schools and high schools in China, South Korea, and Singapore, they said.
Chinese private equity firm CPE, a shareholder in EiM, would also sell its shares in Dulwich as part of the deal, said one of the sources and a third person close to the transaction.
The schools generated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of roughly $80 million in the past year and the sellers were targetting an EBITDA multiple of high single digit to 10 times in a deal, said two of the sources.
Hillhouse and EiM declined to comment. CPE did not respond to a Reuters request seeking comment. The sources declined to be identified as the matter is confidential.
Reuters reported in November last year that some shareholders of Dulwich College International were in talks for a sale of the school's China-heavy Asia operations.
EiM, headquartered in Singapore, said at the time that it was "in the process of bringing in a new strategic financial partner", and that the process would allow partners to exit their investments in the group.
China's $570 billion education industry has been facing growing pressure over recent years after authorities tightened regulation on the sector in the wake of a slowing economy and dwindling foreign student numbers.
That in turn is forcing overhauls at institutions, leading to dozens of international and private schools in China closing or merging, industry executives have said.
EiM was founded in 2003 by Fraser White and Karen Yung, who had formed a 100-year global partnership with London-based Dulwich College to open international colleges around the world, according to their websites.
Since opening the first school in Shanghai in 2003, Dulwich College International has expanded in China and elsewhere in Asia including Singapore and South Korea, the websites showed.
In June, EiM announced plans to open Dulwich College in Thailand in August 2026.
Besides Dulwich College, EiM counts China's Wo Hui Mandarin and Britain's Sherfield School among its education portfolio brands, according to its website.
