The consortium includes BGH Capital, AustralianSuper and former Navitas managing director and chief executive Rod Jones.
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If the Navitas takeover goes ahead, it could represent the first major deal for BGH Capital, which was launched in 2017 by former TPG Capital managing director Ben Gray, former TPG Capital partner Simon Harle and ex-Macquarie Group investment banker Robin Bishop.
BGH and AustralianSuper’s $4.2 billion consortium bid for private hospital group Healthscope was spurned on November 12 in favour of a rival $4.5 billion offer from Brookfield Capital Partners. On the same day, Navitas rejected BGH's initial offer of $5.50 a share.
Navitas expects to reach earnings (before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of $200 million by fiscal 2021 and $250 million by fiscal 2023. On this basis, the board rejected the earlier offer as being below its own view of the company’s value.
The companies are entering due diligence from today until February 18 at the latest. Shareholders will have the opportunity to vote on the arrangement later in the year.
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Navitas has recruitment and marketing deals with higher education institutions across the United Stated, Canada, United Kingdom, Singapore, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, as well as in Australia, where it recently partnered with James Cook University. The education group also has an English-teaching branch.
AusSuper currently owns 20,645,584 Navitas shares, while Mr Jones' Remjay Investments holds 45,117,995.
Navitas confirmed in the ASX announcement it was not currently in discussions with any competing groups about a rival proposal.