TPG/Satya to invest in Ecoles Yassamine

TPG/Satya said Thursday that they have agreed to invest in Ecoles Yassamine. Financial terms weren’t announced but the deal is for a minority investment. Ecoles is a private school network in Morocco. TPG/Satya is the partnership between TPG Growth and Satya Capital Ltd. to invest in Africa.

PRESS RELEASE

San Francisco, London and Casablanca – 17 September, 2015 – TPG/Satya, the partnership between TPG Growth and Satya Capital Limited (“Satya”) focused on investment in Africa, today announced a definitive agreement to invest in Ecoles Yassamine, the largest private school network in Morocco. The minority investment will provide growth capital and allow Ecoles Yassamine to expand and improve the quality of the education they provide, and to export their know-how to other African countries. The investment in Ecoles Yassamine marks the first African investment from the recently-formed partnership of TPG Growth and Satya. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

As part of this investment, TPG/Satya will work closely with Ahmed Benyahia and Ecoles Yassamine to offer students an education that meets internationally-observed standards and best practices, through world-class institutional partnerships. The partnership will utilize Satya’s African expertise and TPG Growth’s global expertise and network to help Ecoles Yassamine offer world-class education to more students in Morocco, and in the future to students in other African countries.

“Morocco is one of the faster-growing economies in Africa, and with that comes a demand for increased access to quality education. By investing in Ecoles Yassamine, we have found a partner that is uniquely positioned to meet that growing demand,” said Tsega Gebreyes, managing partner of TPG/Satya. “Ahmed and his team have grown the school’s network substantially, while at the same time ensuring the highest academic standards and student performance. We are very excited to be partnering with them to continue the growth of their network and to provide more students the opportunity of a world-class education.”

“TPG/Satya’s combination of global and local perspective will be critical as we strive toward our goal of offering world-class education to more of the youth in Morocco and in due course bringing our brand and offer to other African countries as well,” said Benyahia. “TPG/Satya is the ideal partner to help us grow our network of schools and expand the educational offering to both current and perspective students. We look forward to working with them and leveraging their collective expertise as we continue on our path of growth.”

“Our investment in Ecoles Yassamine represents the first step in capitalizing on the immense growth opportunity for companies across Africa,” said Bill McGlashan, founder and managing partner of TPG Growth. “Working with Satya, we are focused on finding opportunities to help grow exciting companies like Ecoles Yassamine that are in a unique position to benefit from the macro/micro and long-term approach of our partnership.”

“Access to quality education is undoubtedly what has pushed some of the most powerful economies forward, and I’m very enthusiastic about what Ecoles Yassamine’s expansion means for Morocco, as well as the larger effect it can have on the expansion of education throughout all of Africa,” said Mo Ibrahim, founding chairman of Satya. “I couldn’t be happier that our first investment as TPG/Satya is a fundamental building block for the African economy overall.”

Notes to Editors:
About TPG Growth
TPG Growth is the middle market and growth equity investment platform of TPG, the global private investment firm. With more than $7 billion in assets under management and committed capital, TPG Growth targets investments in a broad range of industries and geographies, with a significant focus on the U.S. and large, emerging markets such as China, India, Brazil and Southeast Asia. TPG Growth has the deep sector knowledge, operational resources and global experience to drive value creation and help companies reach their full potential. Backed by the resources of TPG, which has over $74 billion of assets under management, TPG Growth leverages the firm’s sector teams, portfolio companies and network. TPG Growth’s current and past investments represent a mix of disruptive and innovative companies across tech, retail and entertainment including Uber, Airbnb, Box, Domo, Beautycounter, Ride, Angie’s Artisan Treats, Fender, SurveyMonkey, Evolution Media and STX Entertainment, among others. TPG Growth has offices in the United States, China, India and Singapore. For more information visit: www.tpggrowth.com

About Satya Capital Limited
Satya Capital is an independent investment firm focused on providing long-term growth capital to African businesses. The firm partners with entrepreneurs to build world-class companies with regional and pan-regional scope and has the flexibility to back investee companies during all stages of development – from expansion to post-IPO – because its permanent capital base enables it to hold investments without a fixed exit horizon. In particular, Satya will seed investment platforms with a view of creating evergreen holdings in its core sectors. The Satya team works closely with portfolio company management to build a foundation for future growth by developing internal systems, attracting management talent and leveraging its network of deep relationships across Africa. Satya targets investments of between $20m and $150m and invests in a broad range of sectors including: Consumer & Retail, Healthcare, TMT and Financial Services. The Satya team has a rich mix of financial, strategic and investment experience, as well as valuable direct operating experience, most notably through the establishment and growth of Celtel, a pan-African mobile operator. For more information, please visit:
www.satyacapital.com

About Ecoles Yassamine
In 1986, the the first school of the group was founded and run by Mr. Mohamed Benyahia and Ms. Najia Kabbaj, a dedicated teacher with significant experience in the education sector. The educational approach of Ecoles Yassamine was built on two pillars: The academic excellence and personal development of its students. In 2004, Ahmed Benyahia took over as General Director, developing the single school into a network, while maintaining the pillars of success of the school’s origin. 30 years later, Ecoles Yassamine is the largest network of schools in Morocco with five entities, more than 6,000 students, and 700 teachers and support staff who devote their skills, experience, and love of the profession to their students, in order to accompany them in their personal development from kindergarten to preparatory classes. For more information, visit:www.ecoleyassamine.com