Media Outlet: Valor Econômico – Online
Date: July 09 th
Journalist: Carolina Mandl
Link: http://www.valor.com.br/empresas/3607858/general-atlantic-investe-em-sistema-de-ensino-doceara
Title:
General Atlantic, a private equity management company, has closed the acquisition of a minority stake in SAS (Sistema Ari de Sá), a family company headquartered in the Brazilian state of Ceará and specialized in producing and selling educational systems (workbooks). The amount of the deal was not disclosed.
The funds that General Atlantic invests will be fully injected into SAS. "The investment will enable SAS to expand geographically and buy technology,” said Ari de Sá Neto, CEO, SAS. Acquisitions are also in the company’s plan.
The executive is the grandson of SAS founder who created the system about 50 years ago. However, only in 2004 the family decided to invest in producing educational material. Today the workbooks that
SAS prepares meet the needs of approximately 110 thousand students from 320 schools, with more than half of these students living in the Brazilian northeastern region.
Besides SAS, the Sá Cavalcante family owns four schools in the capital city of Fortaleza but no school was included in the deal they made with General Atlantic.
This is the first investment the American company General Atlantic made in the Brazilian educational sector. "General Atlantic has made private equity investments in the Brazilian college education sector but there is still plenty to do in the high-school area,” said Eduardo Samara from General Atlantic
Brazil. Until 2010, the company was a member of the board of the university group Estácio. At a time the company was a partner of GP Investimentos.
For General Atlantic that manages assets worth approximately $20 billion USD, two factors weighted on its decision to invest in SAS. One factor is that SAS is based in the Northeast, a region where penetration of educational systems in schools is lower than in the rest of the country.
General Atlantic was also attracted by the approval rate of students who use the Ari de Sá educational system at schools like ITA, the Technology Institute of Aeronautics, and IME, the Military Institute of
Engineering.
Sá Neto plans to invest part of the funds it will received from General Atlantic to develop a learning system that is adjusted to student weaknesses. "The goal is to create a kind of dynamic book that meets the needs of each student,” said Neto.
SAS’ competitors are the educational systems provided by Etapa, Positivo and Abril Educação. With a focus on the Brazilian northeastern market, Abril Educação acquired the Geo system in the state of
Paraíba in 2012. Prior to the acquistion, Abril Educação was a partner of Geo system, which alloed the company to use the material.

Media Outlet: O Povo - Fortaleza
Date: May 17 th
Journalist: Jocélio Leal
Link: http://www.opovo.com.br/app/opovo/economia/2014/05/17/noticiasjornaleconomia,3252074/fu ndo-dos-eua-agora-e-socio-do-sistema-ari-de-sa.shtml
Title:
The American investment fund General Atlantic is now a minority partner. Ari de Sá School and College are not included in the operation and continue under Oto de Sá Cavalcante leadership. CADE, the
Brazilian anti-trust agency, has still to approve the deal.
Ari Neto and his father continue to manage Sistema Ari de Sá de Ensino
Sistema Ari de Sá de Ensino is now a partner of General Atlantic, an American investment fund. General
Atlantic will be a minority partner and will not hold any executive position but will be a member of the board still to be created. The amounts involved in the transaction have not been disclosed due to a confidentiality clause, as told by Oto de Sá Cavalcante, CEO, Ari de Sá. The transaction is still pending approval from CADE, the Brazilian anti-trust agency.
The deal does not include Ari de Sá School and College, which are being implemented, as well as the associated real-state properties. They continue with the same current ownership composition, fully controlled by Oto and Ari Neto (Oto’s son) who will continue leading Sistema Ari de Sá de
Ensino. According to Oto, when the operation is completed and the board is created, he will be the chairman of the board. “If the board has five members GA will appoint two members. If it will have three members, GA will appoint one,” explained Ari Neto.
Sistema Ari de Sá has been operating on the market for 10 years now. The company business is to prepare text books for schools, covering kindergarten to pre-university. They meet the needs of more than 320 schools in 149 cities, in 23 states and in Brazil’s federal district. In addition to educational materials the company offers assistance to school managers and teachers. It operates as some kind of franchise.
Founded in 1980, GA manages assets worth approximately $17 billion USD. General Atlantic is today a partner of companies like Facebook, Lenovo, Alibaba, Decolar.com, Mercado Livre, Alibaba, XP
Investimentos and Smiles.

Regarding Smiles, the company announced in February it would increase its stake by exercising its right to buy shares. To that end the company bought 3.4 million Smiles shares, or 2.8% of the capital. It grew from 15.1% to 17.3%. At the same time Gol reduced its stake from 57.3% to 54.5%. The American company bought shares amounting to BRL 400 million.
In February SAS acquired a 50-year old competitor with 10 thousand students and 50 schools in Rio de
Janeiro. Bahiense (despite its name it is based in the state of Rio de Janeiro) consolidated SAS position as one of the largest firm in the Brazilian educational industry. At that time Ari de Sá Neto said that there are three additional systems they are targeting –in the Brazilian Southeast and Center-West. SAS plans to reach 140 thousand students by 2015. There are only three states where the company does not operate: Santa Catarina, Rondônia and Roraima.
MEET THE TWO PARTNERS
Sistema Ari de Sá de Ensino
Founded in 2004, Sistema Ari de Sá de Ensino prepares educational materials for schools, covering from kindergarten to pre-university. It meets the needs of more than 320 schools, in 149 cities, in 23 Brazilian states and in the federal district. It provides assistance to school managers and educators through marketing and pedagogic consultancy. www.portalsas.com.br
General Atlantic
General Atlantic is a global investment fund that provides capital and strategic support for growing companies. GA was founded in 1980 and manages assets worth approximately $17 billion USD. It has more than 75 investment professionals based in Greenwich, New York, Palo Alto, London, Munich, Hong Kong, Beijing, Mumbai, Singapore and São Paulo. In Latin America GA invested in BM&F Bovespa, Linx, Aceco TI, XP Investimentos and Smiles. www.generalatlantic.com
Learn more
SAS is currently expanding in Brazil. The schools that adhere to their educational system adopt a pedagogical proposal and their educational material resulting in improved learning efficiency and cost reduction. In January industry executives informed O POVO that the cost for parents is now 30% less compared to buying books in traditional bookstores.
By using SAS workbooks the schools have eliminated the bookstores intermediation and now negotiate directly with parents the sale of the educational material. Students can buy the material in installments and add the cost to the school monthly fee.
The scores that students from Ceará achieved at university admission exams show the strength of Ceará educational systems on the Brazilian market.

Media Outlet: Diário do Nordeste - Fortaleza
Date: May 16 th
Journalist: Roberto Moreira
Link: http://blogs.diariodonordeste.com.br/robertomoreira/sistema-ari-de-sa-faz-associacao-comgeneral-atlantic/
Title:
Sistema Ari de Sá de Ensino (SAS) that offers a teaching methodology and the associate educational material to about 110,000 students from 325 schools in Brazil made an investment agreement with
General Atlantic, one of the world’s largest shareholders in high-growth technology companies. According to the deal, General Atlantic will hold a minority stake in SAS.
The funds the GA will provide will be entirely invested in SAS to improve educational technology, and pedagogic content research and development thereby accelerating the company’s continuous growth and geographic expansion.
SAS management will continue the same, and General Atlantic will be a member in SAS Board.
Ari de Sá Cavalcante School and Ari de Sá College are not included in the deal and will continue with the same shareholder composition. OSC Empreendimentos that owns all college and school real-state properties are also not included.
So far General Atlantic has acquired stakes in companies like FACEBOOK, LENOVO, ALIBABA, MERCADO
LIVRE, DECOLAR.COM
, XP INVESTIMENTOS, SMILES, among others.
This partnership with General Atlantic will decisively contribute to strengthen our commitment to our partnering schools: An Education of Excellence.