Modern Star refinancing debt
Navis Capital’s education products business Modern Star is understood to be embarking on a refinancing of about $300m of debt.
Former UBS corporate lending operative Kelly Morton of Skye Capital advisory is working on the deal.
It comes after efforts were made to sell the business for $1bn last year.
The sales process through Morgan Stanley and Luminis Partners attracted a disparate group of buyers, including private equity firms Permira and PAG, Japanese trade players such as Benesse and Bunzl out of London. The understanding is that most parties wanted either the Australian or the Chinese component of the business.
Efforts were later made to sell off parts of the company separately before the sales process was suspended amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, Modern Star generated about $55m of earnings. The company’s large Chinese presence accounts for about 20 per cent of the overall operation.
It has been described as a leading Australian business-to-business distributor of education resources and is moving to consolidate.