Ekuinas chairman Raja Tan Sri Arshad Raja Tun Uda.
KUALA LUMPUR: Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas) has divested its 100% equity interest in the APIIT Education Group to joint venture vehicles owned by the existing key management team and KV Asia Capital, based on an enterprise value of RM725mil.
The education group comprises Asia Pacific Schools (APS), Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) and Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT)
“We are divesting our stake to the new owners which includes the existing key management team of APIIT Group that has a combined experience of more than 100 years in the industry.
"With that, it will ensure the interest to continue providing quality education is constantly aligned,” said Ekuinas chairman Raja Tan Sri Arshad Raja Tun Uda.
Ekuinas first entered APIIT Education Group via a 51% stake acquired from Sapura Resources Bhd in 2010 for 102mil.
In March 2016, it acquired the remaining stake in APIIT from Sapura Resources for RM247mil to become its sole owner.
According to Arshad, the divestment will allow Ekuinas to recoup its cost of investment and generate a positively blended internal rate of return of 22.3% and money multiple of 1.6 times the capital invested, including dividends received.
Ekuinas also said the number of students in the APIIT education group had increased over the investment period, from 7,700 in 2010 to over 10,000 in 2016.