(Hong Kong, 15 March 2018) CITIC Capital Holdings Limited (“CITIC Capital”) and Baring Private Equity Asia (“BPEA”) today announced that their affiliated private equity funds have completed the acquisition of Wall Street English (“WSE”), the world’s leading provider of English language training to adults, from Pearson Plc (“Pearson”).
WSE is recognized as a leading blended learning platform that provides a differentiated learning experience to its students. WSE’s success is underpinned by a strong brand, and a track record of growth and innovation over its 46-year history.
In 2016 the business served 180,000 learners through 70 corporate owned centers in China, 9 corporate owned centers in Italy and 321 franchised centers across 28 territories. It has over 3 million graduates to date.
About CITIC Capital
Founded in 2002, CITIC Capital Holdings Limited is an alternative investment management and advisory company. The firm manages over USD22 billion of capital across 100 funds and investment products. The firm manages investments through its multiple asset class platform covering private equity, real estate, structured investment & finance, and asset management. CITIC Capital has over 130 portfolio companies that span 11 sectors and employ over 820,000 people around the world. CITIC Capital’s private equity arm, CITIC Capital Partners, focused on control buyout opportunities globally, has completed over 60 investments in the past years in China, Japan, U.S. and Europe. The private equity arm currently manages USD4.7 billion of committed capital. For more information, please visit www.citiccapital.com.
About Baring Private Equity Asia
Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) is one of the largest and most established private alternative investment firms in Asia, with a total committed capital of over USD11 billion. The firm runs a pan-Asian investment program, sponsoring buyouts and providing growth capital to companies for expansion or acquisitions, as well as a private credit and a pan-Asian real estate private equity investment program. The firm has been investing in Asia since its formation in 1997 and has over 150 employees located across offices in Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Singapore. BPEA currently has over 30 portfolio companies active across Asia with a total of 150,000 employees and sales of 2 approximately USD28 billion in 2016.