Benesse Holdings Targets Privatization in $1.78 Billion Management Buyout with EQT

Japanese education provider Benesse Holdings has unveiled plans to go private in a management buyout with EQT, seeking a fresh start for its correspondence courses amid declining student enrollment. The deal, valued at around $1.78 billion, involves EQT’s special-purpose company launching a tender offer for about 83% of Benesse shares at ¥2,600 each, a 45% premium. Following the tender, EQT will hold 60%, and the founding family will have 40% with equal voting rights. The move underscores Benesse’s drive to reinvigorate its core distance learning business, which has faced challenges despite previous structural reforms.