JOHANNESBURG - JSE-listed education group ADvTECH was given a green light by the Competition Tribunal to acquire Monash South Africa (MSA), having fulfilled all the conditions for the deal to go ahead.
ADvTECH, South Africa’s largest private education provider, announced last year in September about its intention to acquire MSA for an undisclosed amount.
The MSA acquisition will boost students numbers under ADvTECH portfolio by at least 6 500.
The group said the transaction became effective on April 1 and will result in MSA now being incorporated into ADvTECH’s higher education division, The Independent Institute of Education, and will be branded IIE MSA.
As a result the MSA addition to the group will see ADvTECH increasing its tertiary student numbers to more than 43 000 students.
ADvTECH chief executive Roy Douglas said they are delighted to be able to add MSA, which offers a world-class education environment, with a strong track record for student employability, outstanding pass rates and qualification completion times, to its existing portfolio of highly respected brands which includes Varsity College, Vega and Rosebank College.
“MSA’s reputation for academic excellence aligns with ADvTECH’s values and will support our growth strategy while further cementing our reputation and ability to deliver as South Africa’s leading private higher education and private university group,” Douglas said.
ADvTECH’s IIE MSA campus, located on Johannesburg’s West Rand, is one of the largest private higher education precincts in the country. The campus has a capacity for 6 500 students and it boasts extensive education facilities which include laboratories, sports facilities and four student residences.
“In addition to a state-of-the-art campus, IIE MSA also brings to the ADvTECH portfolio a comprehensive suite of premium programmes, an extensive executive education and training portfolio and highly sought-after programmes such as its engineering and public health,” the group said.
ADvTECH has recently acquired facilities in other countries which include its expansion into Kenya and Uganda last year.
It acquired nine schools and five campuses which included boarding facilities and approximately 4 100 students in both countries.
Douglas added that the group is happy about these recent developments and vote of confidence in the private sector in general, and ADvTECH’s offering in particular, which means that they are increasingly able to make a greater contribution to higher and tertiary education in the country, in line with the way private universities are able to do internationally.
“This is good news for prospective students throughout the country, whose options continue to grow, with the ability to receive a globally recognised quality qualification from a respected institution outside of the public university sector becoming a reality for more young people,” Douglas said.