Curro moves to fully take over Meridian schools platform

South African billionaire Jannie Mouton’s education bet is tightening its grip on a key part of Curro’s portfolio.

Curro, the country’s largest private school network, has received competition clearance to acquire the operations tied to Meridian Schools, a lower fee brand created to broaden access to private education. The Competition Commission has recommended that the Competition Tribunal approve the deal without conditions, saying it is unlikely to substantially lessen competition and does not raise major public interest concerns.

The move is less about expansion into a rival and more about simplifying a complicated structure that has sat inside the Curro group for more than a decade. Meridian is already one of Curro’s nine schooling models, but the brand was built through a joint venture and has been owned and funded in a ring fenced way that kept it separate from Curro’s other operations.

Under the proposed transaction, Curro Holdings intends to acquire two Meridian linked entities: the Campus and Property Management Company, known as CAPMAC, and the Meridian Operations Company, known as MOP. CAPMAC holds the Meridian brand as well as the school buildings and boarding facilities, while MOP is a nonprofit company that operates the Meridian schools.

Curro says it had teamed up in 2012 with the Public Investment Corporation and Old Mutual Investment Group of South Africa to launch a group of Meridian schools that could accommodate about 20,000 learners. That partnership included a capital pledge of R440 million and resulted in the creation of CAPMAC. Curro holds 65% of CAPMAC, and the structure has kept Meridian’s funding and operations separate from the rest of Curro.

Meridian offers schooling through Grade 12, with one campus also providing preschool. The schools are co educational, English medium, and positioned as a cost sensitive option compared with Curro’s other brands. Curro has said Meridian’s curriculum includes a digital wider subject choice that allows senior students to take subjects not offered at their specific campus.

The competition recommendation lands at a moment when Curro itself has undergone a major ownership shift.

Mouton’s foundation has taken control of the private school group in a deal Curro previously valued at about R7.2 billion, involving cash and shares in Capitec and PSG Financial Services. The transaction resulted in Curro delisting from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and transitioning into a public benefit organisation, with Curro saying surplus funds from the schools will be used to expand facilities and provide bursaries.

Mouton, best known for building PSG and backing businesses such as Capitec, established his foundation in 2004 with a focus on education and philanthropy. Curro has said the existing management team remains in place and will continue running the school network as it grows its offerings.

Curro reported more than 70,000 students as of June 2025 and said it operates more than 180 schools across South Africa, offering education from Grade R through high school. That scale has made its moves closely watched in a market where private education is expanding but affordability remains a central pressure point.

If the tribunal approves the transaction, Curro will have a cleaner line of control over Meridian, a brand designed to sit closer to the cost of many families while still operating under the group’s broader standards.