Global investment firm injects P2.52B into Phinma education arm

A global investor group led by KKR has completed its initial investment of P2.52 billion into the education arm of conglomerate Phinma Corp. to help bankroll education and system improvement programs.

In a stock exchange filing on Friday, Phinma confirmed that Phoenix Investments Pte. Ltd., an investment vehicle of funds managed by international firm KKR Global Impact, had injected fresh equity into Phinma Education Holdings Inc.

The initial remittance represented 70.22 percent of KKR’s P3.59-billion total investment to buy new shares in Phinma Education.

“We are leveraging KKR’s global experience and networks to help us improve our completion rates, refine growth strategies and reach more underserved students,” Phinma Education president and CEO Chito Salazar said in a separate statement.

KKR currently offers alternative asset management, capital markets and insurance solutions.

Phinma first announced KKR’s investment in May. Under the deal, Rise Edu Pte. Ltd., which is managed by Kaizenvest III, a unit of Phinma Education shareholder Kaizen Private Equity II Pte. Ltd., will also get P898.61 million worth of shares.

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At the same time, Phinma said funds managed by KKR would buy all the shares currently held by Asian Development Bank, Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V. and Kaisenvest II in Phinma Education. These companies will no longer hold any shares after the transactions.

Once all the deals are closed, KKR will have a 30.67-percent stake in Phinma Education, entitling it to three of the 11 seats on the latter’s board of directors. Kaizenvest III will hold a 3.73-percent stake, while parent firm Phinma Corp. will remain the majority shareholder.

In the first half of the year, Phinma’s earnings plunged by 62.6 percent to P170.93 million due to what it called a “challenging” environment.