Hogan Lovells advises Navis Capital Partners on investment in Cambodia's CIA FIRST International School
Singapore, 11 August 2020 – International law firm Hogan Lovells has acted for long standing client Navis Capital Partners (Navis), an Asia-based private equity firm, on its investment in CIA FIRST International School Co., Ltd. (CIA FIRST) in Cambodia.
CIA FIRST is a PK-12 international schools group based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and is the largest international private school in the country by student enrolment.
A leader in Cambodia's international private school market, CIA FIRST offers a modern curriculum based on American academic standards ASC WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) accreditation and College Board Advanced Placement (AP) courses in high school, including the prestigious AP Capstone Diploma.
Aside from its main US-based curriculum offering, CIA FIRST also offers an optional local Khmer curriculum, providing its students with the flexibility to pursue higher (tertiary) education either in Cambodia or abroad.
CIA FIRST currently operates two campuses in Phnom Penh with a total enrolment of 3,200 students. Navis is providing CIA FIRST with growth capital for two new flagship campuses, which will be completed for the upcoming academic year. Further expansion is expected in the coming years.
The transaction was led by Asia Pacific Corporate & Finance lead Stephanie Keen with assistance from counsel Danielle Wu and trainee Adam Kania in Singapore.
Commenting on the transaction, Stephanie Keen said: "We are delighted to once again partner up with firm client Navis Capital on this exciting opportunity in a key development market for South East Asia, despite the challenges created by the recent pandemic."
The investment represents further build-out of an affordable education platform by Navis that is focused on Southeast Asia’s more developing economies where there are insufficient private school places for the local population.
The investment firm’s first investment in this space was made in 2019 in Vietnam, with its acquisition of Thanh Thanh Cong Education JSC, a leading private school chain operating in southern Vietnam, which Hogan Lovells also advised on.
Navis is a leading investment firm which manages approximately US$5bn in public and private equity capital with a focus on investments primarily in and around Asia.
Navis contributes both capital and management expertise to a limited number of well-positioned companies with the objective of directing strategic, operational, and financial improvements. Navis has a long and proven track record in pan-Asian private equity, with over 80 control transactions across the Asian region since its establishment in 1998.