On November 7, the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily News (reporter Chen Mei) reported that after HighLight Capital's $34 billion acquisition of Philips' small appliances business in 2021, the giant is planning to acquire Asia DeWi International School. Currently, the reported transaction amount is as high as 0.6 billion US dollars.

According to the Financial Association Venture Capital Data, DeWi International School is a global education brand with campuses in multiple countries and regions around the world. The target acquired by HighLight Capital this time is the Asian campus. Asia DeWi International School includes China, South Korea, Singapore, and other regions, with EiM Group as the owner and operator behind it.

Previously, HighLight Capital has made extensive investments in the education sector, participating in the C-round financing of education industry SaaS service provider Yixue Education with an amount of 0.265 billion US dollars; as well as in the K12 education field, including Tal Education (NYSE: TAL), New Oriental (NYSE: EDU), Bright Scholar Education (NYSE: BEDU), and others.

In the field of vocational and higher education, HighLight Capital has also invested in companies such as China East Education (HK:00667) and Offcn Education Technology (002607). However, with policy adjustments, HighLight Capital has also made changes in its investment style in education, reducing its holdings and divesting some education-based Chinese stocks, including Tal Education and OneSmart International Education Group.

So why is HighLight Capital once again targeting education assets at this stage?

From the perspective of the target acquisition plan, DeWi International School has a high reputation in the international school circle in the country, not only because of its high-quality teaching and high tuition fees, but also because many celebrity children attend DeWi International School's campuses around the world.

Public information shows that the daughters of Faye Wong, Li Xiang, Tian Liang, and the son of Wang Zhonglei have all attended DeWi International School.

Financially, it has been reported that these schools generated approximately $80 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in the past year. Reporters from Star Market Daily noted that Beijing Dehong British International School provides education services for 2-18 year-olds. The preschool department (kindergarten, pre-school) tuition fee is 0.2 million yuan per year, while the high school department (grades 12-13) tuition fee can go up to 0.307 million yuan per year.

It is worth mentioning that in the acquisition, Blackstone Group competed with Hillhouse Capital. The former planned to acquire Dehong International School's branches in Singapore and Seoul, South Korea, without involving schools in China. However, Blackstone Group faced setbacks in the bidding process, and Hillhouse Capital may become the ultimate acquirer.

Reporters from Star Market Daily noted that as the king of global private equity, Blackstone, known for its PE, attracts attention from sovereign wealth funds, insurance funds, and retirement funds, all of which are important sources of its fundraising. However, in terms of private wealth management scale, Blackstone Group's assets have grown from $10 billion at the time of the 2007 IPO to $250 billion in the first three quarters of 2024, accounting for 23% of its total asset management scale of $1.1 trillion, demonstrating the contribution of high net worth individual investors to Blackstone Group's fundraising.

In terms of fundraising, Hillhouse completed a large-scale financing round in 2021. Information indicates that at that time, Hillhouse Capital was close to completing the round of financing, with three new funds attracting $18 billion in funds, higher than the initial target of about $13 billion.

However, following the retreat of USD funds, in 2022, Hillhouse announced a RMB carbon-neutral industrial fund with a total size of over 4 billion RMB. This year, HHLR, an independent USD secondary market investment management platform under Hillhouse, announced the completion of a fund of approximately 6 billion RMB.

Data from ChuangTouTong-Zhizhong shows that since 2023, Hillhouse has established two funds denominated in RMB, namely Nantong Gaolu Yuanqi Equity Investment Partnership Enterprise (Limited Partnership) and Qingdao Gaohuang Zeyou Private Equity Investment Fund Partnership Enterprise (Limited Partnership), with a total size exceeding 2 billion RMB.

Amid the challenges in fundraising, insurance funds have always been a target for top institutions. However, this year, in terms of large investments from insurance funds, the funds have designated their institutions as General Partners (GPs) for investments. For example, the recently established Hefei Shenyuan Enterprise Management Partnership Enterprise had a total commitment of 20 billion RMB, with China Insurance Capital contributing 99.995%. However, the managing partner is China Insurance Investment (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., with the controlling shareholder being China Insurance Investment.

Industry insiders have expressed to reporters that after several years, Hillhouse once again ventures into educational assets, perhaps aiming not only for financial returns but also to gather resources in international schools and strengthen their position in private wealth.