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Arowana to start Intueri IPO presentations next week

Arowana International (ASX: AWN), owners of New Zealand-based vocational school operator Intueri Education Group, plan to kick off meetings next week to sound out investors regarding a potential initial public offering in Australia that could value Intueri as much as AUD 260m (USD 240m), people familiar with the matter said.
Arowana would likely retain equity but not control if the IPO went ahead, one of the people said.
The lower end of the valuation the company could seek is AUD 220m, another person said.
Intueri operates seven colleges offering classes in hospitality management, design, fine arts, fashion, commercial diving as well as beauty and spa management.
Arowana said it was buying Quantum Education, through Intueri Education, in February. It said on 1 April it was buying Online Courses Australia, again through Intueri, with internal cash.
At the same time, Arowana said it was finalizing a funding structure for the Quantum acquisition, with UBS and Macquarie, that would either see an Intueri spinoff or an offer of either equity or debt at the parent level.
Intueri earned NZD 66.6m in revenue in CY2013 and EBITA of NZD 21.5m at a 32% margin, according to Arowana filings with the ASX. For CY2015 it projects revenue of NZD 86.4m and EBITA of NZD 30.1m with net profit after tax of NZD 13.2m.
Enrollment in 2013 at schools run by all three units stood at 9,000 students, according to a presentation filed with the ASX.
One fund manager’s main concerns with an IPO were around Inturi’s small size and limited New Zealand profile as well as its exposure to state funding.
By Simon Segal in Sydney
mergermarket.com