Consortium Including CPP Investments, EQT, Neuberger Berman Acquires Private School Network

Nord Anglia Education, an international school system which operates more than 80 schools in 33 countries, will be acquired by a consortium of investors that includes the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Neuberger Berman Private Markets and Swedish alternative investor EQT.

The transaction will value Nord Anglia at $14.5 billion, with both CPP Investments and EQT reinvesting in the educator. Neuberger Berman, as well as other unnamed institutional investors, will become new partners in the deal.

Nord Anglia, which serves 85,000 students through day and boarding school programs, was taken private in 2017 in a $4.3 billion deal whose investors included CPP Investments and Baring Private Equity Asia. Baring, acquired by EQT in 2022, has consistently held a majority stake in Nord Anglia, first investing in the school system in 2008.

The 2017 investment in Nord Anglia was among CPP Investments’ first direct investments in private education, according to Caitlin Gubbels, CPP Investments’ senior managing director and global head of private equity.

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“Our reinvestment allows us to remain committed to Nord Anglia while delivering an attractive return to the CPP Fund,” Gubbels said in a statement. “We are highly confident in the growth potential of the sector and look forward to working with new investors.”

EQT made the investment in Nord Anglia through its Baring Asia Private Equity Fund VIII, which counts the Employees Retirement System of Texas and British Columbia Investment Management as limited partners, according to PitchBook data.

The Barings private equity fund will be 80% to 90% invested as of this transaction, according to a statement.

“EQT has had the privilege of partnering with Nord Anglia since 2008, and we’ve developed a deep connection with this exceptional business,” Jack Hennessy, a partner in EQT, said in a statement. “Over the years, we’ve witnessed Nord Anglia grow from six schools to more than 80, which today serve more than 85,000 students across the globe.”

Some of Nord Anglia’s schools include the Nord Anglia International School New York and the Nord Anglia International School Dublin, where annual tuition tops out at $52,750 and 23,523 pounds ($30,553), respectively.

CPP investments manages C$645.8 billion in assets ($466.77 billion) for more than 22 million Canadians. EQT manages 246 billion euros ($266 billion) across several alternative asset classes. Neuberger Berman Private Markets has managed more than $115 billion in commitments since inception through June 2024.