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Hollywood dreams: Curro snaps up AFDA, Africa’s number one film school
Published Date: 2017-06-09 | Source: Fin24 | Author: fin24 Staff
Cape Town -
Curro subsidiary Stadio has bought AFDA, the leading film school in Africa with
four campuses across South Africa.
Curro said the 100% acquisition of AFDA shares is subject to certain
conditions being met, such as approval from the Competition Tribunal.
Curro, which
intends to unbundle and list Stadio separately in 2017, saw its share price dip
by 2.16% at close of trade on Wednesday, with a market cap of R17.74bn and a PE
ratio of 97.93.
AFDA is a
registered higher education institution, with nine accredited programmes,
primarily focused on the film, television and live performance industry.
"It is rated
as the number one film school in Africa," Curro said in a statement on
Thursday.
Founded by
Garth Holmes and Bata Passchier, AFDA grew from six students in 1994 to about 2
000 students in 2017, with campuses in Gauteng, Cape Town, Durban and Port
Elizabeth.
AFDA is in
the process of seeking out opportunities to expand its offerings
geographically, Curro said.
"This
strategy is aligned with Stadio's strategy of creating further access to
tertiary education through the expansion and development of its core brands,"
Curro said.
Curro, which
aims to have one major acquisition per year, invested R266m in acquisitions in
its last financial year. "Acquisitions are carefully considered to ensure
that the area still offers growth opportunities and the ethos of the target
market is aligned with that of Curro," it said in its 2017 annual
financial report.
Curro, which
grew headline earnings per share by 55% in the last financial year, plans to
invest R2bn in growth and expansion projects going forward.
At the time of
its annual report, it had 54 campuses with nearly 50 000 learners.
"At the
close of the 2015/2016 financial year we were operating 115 schools on 49
campuses," it said. "This year we invested R571m in the expansion of
existing campuses by adding classrooms and cultural and sports amenities, and
invested another R763m in the construction of nine new campuses.
"We
currently have 127 schools on 54 campuses across the country. If this is how we
respond during the tough times, I have no doubt we shall reach our 2020
target."