Investment firm Hillhouse among investors behind group that runs Dulwich College International: EiM
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EiM said its operational model and engagement with the schools it runs remains unchanged.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SINGAPORE - The education group that owns and runs Dulwich College International is now backed by Singapore-headquartered asset manager Hillhouse Investment.
Education in Motion (EiM) told The Straits Times that the alternative investment manager is among “a group of long-term-oriented, Asia-based global investors” backing the education group.
The response came weeks after parents of Dulwich College students in Singapore were told of the deal between EiM and Hillhouse, which was set up by China-born entrepreneur Zhang Lei.
In August and September, reports said Hillhouse would acquire Dulwich College International schools in Asia in a deal pegged at US$600 million (S$807 million).
When asked for details of Hillhouse’s investment, EiM said: “We do not comment on the financial terms of any investment at group level.”
EiM said Hillhouse was launched with initial investor capital from Yale University Endowment and that the asset manager has close ties with many leading universities from around the world as investors and beneficiaries.
The group said its investors “are fully aligned with our culture of striving for academic excellence through educational best practices”.
It added that its operational model and engagement with the schools it runs remains unchanged.
Previous reports stated that Dulwich College in Singapore has close to 3,000 students, while the school in Seoul has an enrolment of about 650, with students ranging in age from two to 18.
In May, EiM dismissed talk that investment firm Blackstone was near a deal to buy some of Dulwich College International’s Asian assets for about US$600 million.
At that time, Mr Fraser White, who is founder, chairman and chief executive of EiM, said the group was in the process of bringing in a new strategic financial partner.
He had said this was because investors had committed funds to the firm for a fixed period of time, and that time was coming to an end.
EiM, which was founded in 2003 by Mr White and Ms Karen Yung, has a portfolio that includes Dulwich College International, Dulwich International High School, Sherfield School, Dehong and Wo Hui Mandarin.
The group caters to more than 11,000 students.
Dulwich was founded in Britain more than 400 years ago.
Mr White and Ms Yung set up the first Dulwich College international school in Shanghai in 2003, before branching out to Seoul in 2010 and Singapore in 2014.
