London-listed Myanmar Strategic Holdings (MSH) has completed the acquisition of Wall Street English (WSE), an English language training (ELT) in Vietnam, according to an announcement.
The acquisition, which was first announced on May 26, 2020, has been made through MSH’s wholly-owned subsidiary MS English 2 Pte Ltd.
Following the announcement, MSH also mentioned its plan to raise $6 million from Belgian PE firm VerInvest SA and MACAN Pte Ltd, the largest shareholder of MSH. The fundraising was conducted through the issuance of 200,000 new ordinary shares to VerInvest and 100,000 shares to MACAN.
The share issuance plan will provide funding to sustain the operations of WSE Vietnam, as well as expand the group’s existing operations and improve the liquidity of its shares in the market.
WSE Vietnam serves the premium ELT market and is also focused on adult learning. The firm also provides an integrated learning solution that can be delivered online.
WSE Vietnam serves more than 6,000 students in seven centres in Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Dhuong, as of 30 April 2020. The centres will continue to operate under 10-year centre franchise agreements with Wall Street English International on terms similar to those in place for Wall Street English Myanmar.
Aside from WSE Vietnam, MSH also has the exclusive development and franchising agreements for 10 centres of WSE in Myanmar. It opened two WSE centres in Myanmar in 2017, a third in August 2018, and a fourth in February 2020.
Meanwhile, the company’s unaudited revenue for the 12-month period ended 30 April 2020 was noted at $13.8 million. WSE Vietnam also noted a net loss of $1.4 million and gross assets at $3.4 million in the same period.
Myanmar Strategic Holdings is an independent developer and manager of consumer businesses in Myanmar and Vietnam, with portfolios in education, services and hospitality.
In the education space, the company operates a joint venture with Auston Institute of Management to develop and operate the Auston College Myanmar. The private school opened in May 2018 offering diplomas in engineering courses.
In February 2020, the company announced a partnership with Liverpool John Moores University to provide engineering training programmes for working professionals in Myanmar. It also launched its first private K-12 international school, the Yangon American International School in Yangon, in August 2019.
