SINGAPORE - The education group that owns and runs Dulwich College International has dismissed talks that it is close to sealing a deal to sell its schools in Singapore and Seoul to American investment firm Blackstone.
Education in Motion (EiM) told The Straits Times that no agreement was entered into, and that there are “no ongoing negotiations” to sell any schools.
The comments came after media reports in April said Blackstone is nearing a deal to buy some of Dulwich College International’s Asian assets for about US$600 million (S$816 million).
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, the media reports said.
EiM told ST: “We can confirm that no agreements have been entered into, no agreements have been signed, and there are no ongoing negotiations or intentions to sell any schools.”
It said the articles “ended up running far ahead of the facts”, adding that there was no deal with the buyout firm.
Mr Fraser White, founder, chairman and chief executive of EiM, said in a statement: “EiM is currently in the process of bringing in a new strategic financial partner.
“The process of securing new strategic partners is a familiar one for EiM, which has successfully navigated it a number of times already.”
EiM told ST that investors had committed funds to the firm for a fixed period of time, which is coming to an end. This is what is driving the group’s current refinancing process, the company said.
When asked, Blackstone declined to comment.
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.
There had been earlier reports on the sale of EiM assets.
In November 2023, Reuters said some shareholders of Dulwich College International were in talks for a sale of the school’s China-heavy Asia operations. Back then, EiM said it was “in the process of bringing in a new strategic financial partner”, and that the process would allow partners to exit their investments in the group.
The Reuters report came in the light of China’s overhaul of its US$570 billion education industry, which led to dozens of international and private schools in China closing or merging.
Pressure on the industry mounted as the Chinese authorities tightened regulation amid a slowing economy, and as foreign student numbers dwindled.
International schools in the mainland can only enrol students with foreign passports, but student numbers have gone down with expatriates from countries including the United States, Britain and Canada leaving after the pandemic and amid rising geopolitical tensions.
Reports said annual fees can run up to more than $54,000 at the Singapore school and as much as 39.6 million won (S$39,400) at the Seoul campus.
