Global equity firm invests $100 mln in education platform EQuest

By Dat Nguyen June 1, 2021 | 03:52 pm PT

Students pictured during an educational session of EQuest. Photo courtesy of EQuest.

Global equity firm KKR has invested close to $100 million in EQuest, a company that seeks to provide students in Vietnam with access to world-class education.

"As Vietnam continues to elevate on the world’s economic stage, access to affordable, high-quality education solutions plays an important role in meeting the nation’s objectives," said Ashish Shastry, head of KKR’s Southeast Asia division.

The value of the deal was around $100 million, according to DealStreetAsia. The deal is likely to have paved the way for a partial exit for Singapore-based TAEL Partners, which invested in EQuest in 2018.

EQuest operates a diversified portfolio across the educational sector in Vietnam, focusing on four core segments including K-12 bilingual schools, tertiary and vocational institutions, English enrichment courses, and digital learning solutions.

More than 110,000 students enroll in its segments each year.

As of March, KKR had $367 billion of assets under its management.

Before EQuest, it had invested in Vietnam’s biggest real estate developer Vinhomes and animal feed producer Masan MEATLife.