Spring Education Group was formed by combining Stratford School, LePort Montessori Schools, Nobel Learning Communities, and BASIS Independent Schools in 2017 and 2018. Stratford Schools operated preschool through 8th grade schools in California. Stratford was previously owned by
Warburg Pincus, a private equity group. SEG bought it for $500 million in a
leveraged buyout using $220 million in loans from
Macquarie Group. In 2018, SEG acquired LePort Montessori, which operated preschool through 8th grade Montessori schools in Southern California. In 2018, SEG also purchased 200+ schools including Chesterbrook Academy, Merryhill School, Discovery Isle Child Development Center, Enchanted Care Learning Center, Camelback Desert School, Southern Highlands Preparatory School, The Honor Roll School, and other small, regional brands. In 2019, SEG purchased the BASIS Independent Schools which operate preschool through 12th grade schools. A group of 190 parents from BASIS submitted a letter expressing concerns regarding the schools’ ownership by a China-based private equity firm.
Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic On March 20, 2020, a worker at Touchstone Preschool in
Hillsboro, Oregon, operated by SEG, tested positive for
COVID-19. The preschool was closed for a deep cleaning and planned to remain closed for 14 days. After 34 years in operation, a Merryhill preschool permanently closed for economic reasons in May 2020 in
Modesto, California. Its financial standing had been made worse due to COVID-19 closures. It had leased space from
Tenet Healthcare. The temporary pandemic closures, which impacted SEG's
Debt-to-income ratio, caused
Moody's Investors Service to change their
credit rating for SEG from "stable" to "negative". In November 2020, SEG's credit rating increased back to "stable."
Florida voucher program changes In September 2023, Florida governor
Ron DeSantis announced the termination of voucher program eligibility for four private schools owned by Spring Education Group. The decision was based on concerns about the schools' ownership by Primavera Capital Group, a Chinese investment firm, and its CEO Fred Hu. Fred Hu denied any membership in the CCP. == Finance ==