RISE Education Cayman, the Bain-backed leading Chinese provider of after-school English lessons, filed on Friday with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering, although proceeds could be closer to $200 million based on valuation estimates from earlier this summer.
Boston, MA-based private equity firm Bain Capital acquired a 90% stake in the company for $130 million in 2013 and is now seeking an exit. Bain was also believed to be considering a sale of the company at a valuation of about $1.0 billion in July.
The Beijing, China-based company was founded in 2007 and booked $123 million in sales for the 12 months ended June 30, 2017. It plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol REDU. RISE Education Cayman filed confidentially on July 28, 2017. Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse are the joint bookrunners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.
