Cinven to acquire Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio Group from CVC Funds

International private equity firm, Cinven, today announces that it has agreed to partner with founder, Jesús Núñez, and Mubadala Investment Company, to acquire a majority stake in Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio Group (‘UAX’ or ‘the Group’), a leading private higher education platform in Spain, from CVC Funds. Jesús Núñez and the management team will reinvest in UAX. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. 

The Group began with the founding of UAX in Madrid in 1993. Today, UAX is a leading education group in Spain known for its strong commitment to academic excellence, innovation, and practical, career-oriented education. Headquartered in Madrid, UAX offers a wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate and technical vocation programmes across disciplines including health sciences, engineering, business, education and arts, which are delivered both online and face to face.
 
With a focus on differential learning and digital transformation, UAX blends traditional academic values with cutting-edge technology and top-tier corporate partnerships to prepare students for success in an increasingly interconnected world. Its hands-on learning model, industry-aligned curricula, and close collaboration with leading companies ensure that graduates are well-equipped with the skills and experience demanded by today’s job market. 

CVC Funds invested in UAX in 2019 alongside the founding family. Over the last 6 years, UAX has been transformed into a professional and scalable higher education platform. This has been achieved through a focus on academic excellence and research, as well as enhanced student experiences and campus services. UAX has established deep corporate partnerships to support employability and invested more than €350m to enhance and expand facilities, including new campuses in Madrid and Málaga. The Group has also expanded to offer new technical vocation and lifelong learning postgraduate programmes, has developed a renewed and technology-driven academic proposal for Business & Tech and has signed flagship partnerships agreements with Rafa Nadal and LaLiga in the sports segment. As a result, total student numbers have increased from 8k to 35k, representing a 23% CAGR. 

In partnership with UAX’s founder, Jesús Núñez, Cinven is committed to supporting UAX in its next phase of growth, with the ambition to become a benchmark for excellence in the private university sector, both in Spain and internationally. 

Cinven’s Iberia Regional team and Business Services Sector team worked closely together to identify UAX as a compelling investment opportunity, underpinned by a number of attractive characteristics, including:

• Its strong position in the structurally growing and resilient Spanish private higher education market, which is showing attractive growth, underpinned by sustainable demand from favourable demographics, international student flows and rising demand for upskilling and lifelong learning;
• The opportunity to invest alongside a proven and dynamic founder, with a strong track record of building and scaling the business and a commitment to shaping a next-generation private education group, rooted in academic excellence and innovation;
• Its strong foundation and brand recognition across the different fields of study it offers, with a unique heritage in health science; 
  Its attractive growth potential, including through new campus openings in Spain and expansion into new international markets;
• Multiple levers for growth, including capitalising on existing strengths, particularly within the health, business and tech segments, harnessing emerging capabilities from new campus openings, and exploring untapped opportunities; and
• Its high quality management team, which has a strong track record of delivering value creation.

Jesús Núñez, Founder of UAX commented: 

 “UAX is committed to delivering a world-class educational experience that prioritises student outcomes, satisfaction and engagement, within the Spanish higher education sector. We are thankful for CVC having supported UAX in its transformation into a professionalised educational platform. Its continued strategic support and engagement over the last 6 years has allowed UAX to lead the growth and innovation of the private higher education in Spain. We are delighted to have Cinven’s support to accelerate our shared strategic ambitions, expand our academic offering, and continue to place students at the heart of everything we do. Together, we look forward to driving UAX’s growth and strengthening our position as a leading university, both in Spain and internationally.”

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.