EdtechX Holdings Acquisition Corp. (“EdtechX”)
(Nasdaq: EDTX), the world’s first special purpose acquisition
company focused on investing in the education services and
education technology industry, and
Meten International
Education Group (“Meten”), a leading English language
training (“ELT”) service provider in China, announced on March
30th 2020 that they have successfully completed their previously
announced merger transaction.
The combined entity will operate as Meten
EdtechX Education Group Ltd. (“Meten EdtechX”) and will continue to
focus on providing English language and future skills training for
Chinese students and professionals.
In connection with the closing of the merger
transaction, EdtechX and Meten completed the private placement of
US$ 36 million from institutional investors including Azimut, a
leading Italian asset manager with assets under management of more
than US$ 60 billion, and Xiamen ITG Holding Group, a Fortune Global
500 Company engaged in range of industries across China including
education. These investments add to the previous investments into
Meten by China International Capital Corporation and private
equity funds affiliated with Tsinghua University. The transaction
is expected to accelerate the expansion of Meten’s ELT offering and
its fast-growing digital platform, ‘Likeshuo’, as well as fund
potential synergistic and accretive acquisitions in China and
internationally.
Commenting on the announcement, Benjamin
Vedrenne-Cloquet, CEO of EdtechX, and Charles McIntyre, Chairman
and Chief Investment Officer of EdtechX, jointly said:
“We believe that the closing of these
simultaneous transactions during these unprecedented market
conditions is a significant achievement. It is testament to the
strong fundamentals of the Chinese ELT market, characterized by
rapid growth in demand for practical English language learning, and
the robust expansion strategy pursued by Meten EdtechX which
leverages an efficient omnichannel business model and technology to
deliver profitable growth.”
“While the current COVID-19 pandemic continues
to affect global economies, it has also created the conditions
for accelerated adoption of online education and training globally.
This is a trend we expect to continue in the long term.”
Alan Peng, Chief Executive Officer of
Meten International Education Group, commented:
“The closing of this merger marks a significant
milestone for Meten, an achievement made possible through the
support of investors across the world and the dedication of
management teams on both sides of the transaction. We look forward
to working with Benjamin and Charles to deliver our growth
strategy, taking full advantage of the extensive industry
experience of our new board directors and the additional funding
raised in connection with the transaction."
Meten EdtechX’s ordinary shares will trade on
the Nasdaq stock exchange under the symbol METX. Benjamin
Vedrenne-Cloquet and Charles McIntyre have joined the Board of
Meten EdtechX as independent directors to support Meten’s founders
and management team with international investor relations and the
implementation of their acquisition and digital expansion strategy.
Chardan acted as financial and capital markets advisor to
EdtechX. Macquarie acted as financial advisor to Meten. Graubard
Miller LLP acted as legal counsel to EdtechX and Morgan, Lewis
& Bockius and Conyers acted as legal counsels to Meten. Loeb
& Loeb acted as special legal advisor to Chardan. Citigate Dewe
Rogerson and Inbound Capital acted as Investor Relation advisors
for the merged entity Meten EdtechX.
About Meten International Education Group
Meten is a leading English language training
(“ELT”) service provider in China, delivering English language and
future skills training for Chinese students and professionals.
Meten benefits from a highly efficient business model, which
leverages the synergies between its nationwide network of 149
learning centres and sophisticated digital platform, Likeshuo, to
deliver profitable growth.
Meten’s superior teaching quality and student
satisfaction is underpinned by cutting edge technology deployed
across the business. AI-driven centralised teaching and management
systems record and analyse learning processes in real time and
personalise course content, facilitating continuous development of
the course offering and strict quality control.
Meten has grown rapidly and profitably to reach
$200 million (RMB 1,424 million) in revenue and $20.1 million (RMB
144 million) in adjusted EBITDA in 2018, up from $113.9 million
(RMB 802 million) in revenue and $2.4 million (RMB 17.1 million) in
EBITDA in 2016, representing a two-year revenue CAGR of 33% and
two-year EBITDA CAGR of 190%. It has closed the 2019 financial year
with gross billings in line with management expectations, and its
projected normalized adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income for
2019 are $19.9 million (RMB 135.0 million) and $9.0 million (RMB
64.0 million), respectively, after taking into account certain
one-off events.
Meten is well positioned to leverage China’s
rapid growth in demand for education and training services, driven
by the country’s continuous economic development and increasing
urbanization. A growth strategy focused on further developing the
online offering, expanding the offline network into tier two, three
and four cities, and further enhancing and diversifying the service
offering, is expected to deliver approximately 50% growth in
revenue, 109% in adjusted EBITDA and 203% in adjusted net income
by 2021.
Investor Relation Website:
http://investor.metenedu-edtechx.com/
About EdtechX Holdings Acquisition Corp.
(“EdtechX”)
EdtechX Holdings Acquisition Corp.,
headquartered in London UK, is public acquisition company sponsored
by affiliates of a specialist “edtech” investment bank, IBIS
Capital, and Azimut Enterprises, a Milan based global asset
management firm with approximately $61 billion in AUM. EdtechX
listed on Nasdaq on October 2018 with an initial capital raise of
$63.5M and announced the acquisition of Meten in December 2019 for
a stock consideration of $535M. EdtechX is led by French Chief
Executive Officer, Benjamin Vedrenne-Cloquet, and British Chairman,
Charles McIntyre. Benjamin and Charles are long standing business
partners and have built businesses in the edtech, media and
financial services sectors. Together, they lead IBIS Capital, a
leading specialist education and edtech focused investment bank
whose advisory arm was involved in the acquisition of Wall Street
English China in 2018. In 2013, Charles and Benjamin also
co-founded EdtechX Global, a world leading conference and insight
network across Europe, Asia and China, gathering over 10,000
companies and 2000 industry leaders, innovators and influencers in
the education, training and edtech industries. In addition, Charles
McIntyre is Chairman of Learnlight, a leading English tutoring
digital platform for corporates. Benjamin Vedrenne-Cloquet is also
Chairman of the Board of CFBL (a French English Bilingual College
in London).
Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward looking
statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
All statements contained in this press release other than
statements of historical facts, including, without limitation,
statements regarding Meten EdtechX’s future financial and business
performance, attractiveness of Meten EdtechX’s service offerings
and platforms and the value proposition of Meten EdtechX’s
services, are forward-looking statements. When used in this press
release, the words “estimates,” “projected,” “expects,”
“anticipates,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,”
“seeks,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “future,” “propose” and
variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative
versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are
not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and
involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties,
assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside
Meten EdtechX’s management’s control, that could cause actual
results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in
the forward-looking statements. Important factors, among others,
that may affect actual results or outcomes include: the inability
to recognize the anticipated benefits of the business combination;
costs related to the business combination; Meten EdtechX’s ability
to execute on its plans to develop and market new services and the
timing of these development programs; Meten EdtechX’s estimates of
the size of the markets for its services; the rate and degree of
market acceptance of Meten EdtechX’s products; the success of other
competing technologies that may become available; Meten EdtechX’s
ability to identify and integrate acquisitions; the performance and
security of Meten EdtechX’s services; potential litigation
involving Meten EdtechX; and general economic and market conditions
impacting demand for Meten EdtechX’s services. Neither EdtechX nor
Meten undertake any obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
A video accompanying this announcement is available
athttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ee29d847-3789-471e-84b8-9dc169ed8497
Photos accompanying this announcement are available
athttps://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5e6f1595-1e5e-41f5-a39d-a53e462838b2
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/afe9c3f8-4ed4-437e-a4a7-1a5abfc53f9d
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/92197a78-e71a-4bdf-a8e8-4af58cbc544c
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5a7663b1-fb49-44bf-b781-67b327af23b7
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a152cb12-7265-4a71-89e2-1bf7e27de617
Contact:
Meten-EdtechX Investor Relation Website: http://investor.metenedu-edtechx.com/
Press and IR: meten@citigatedewerogerson.com
EdtechX Holdings Acquisi... (NASDAQ:EDTX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
EdtechX Holdings Acquisi... (NASDAQ:EDTX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024