Who are Majority Capital Partners? Are they private equity and what are their plans for G8?

ASX listed G8 Education announced on 12 November 2026 that Majority Capital Partners had made an indicative, non-binding proposal to buy 100 per cent of the company by way of a scheme of arrangement for $0.26 a share.

The announcement saw G8’s share price surge 90 per cent and prompted a wide range of questions from multiple stakeholders about the people behind the bid and what, should it happen, it may mean for the many stakeholders that touch the company. 

This article aims to step out these key questions. 

So, who are Majority Capital Partners?

Majority Capital Partners are a small Melbourne based investment firm founded in 2026 by three former Tanarra Capital employees; Vidhur Rangaswamy, Lee Mickelburough and Neil Vinson

The firm is allegedly backed by high profile financiers Will Vicars and Mike Messara who founded hedge fund Caledonia and as per their website have positioned themselves as “activist investors in listed mid-cap companies.”

An activist investor is a shareholder (such as a hedge fund, private equity firm, or wealthy individual) who normally buys a significant minority stake in a publicly traded company to force or influence major changes in order to drive the share price higher. 

Have they been involved in any early learning related deals before?

Yes, they have. 

Firstly, whilst at Tanarra, Vidhur Rangaswamy's activist fund was one of G8's biggest shareholders having held substantial stakes in the business from September 2021 through to 2025. Tanarra exited its G8 position in February 2026. 

Secondly, in 2022 Tanarra teamed up with Allegro Funds to buy the debt of outside school hours provider Camp Australia which was subsequently swapped into equity enabling them to largely take over the business from previous owner Bain Capital. 

Are Majority Partners activist investors or private equity?

At this stage it is a bit unclear. On their website Majority Capital have positioned themselves as activist investors which normally means they take minority positions in ASX listed companies that they believe are poorly governed and effect change through taking a board position and influencing company strategy and operations. 

This strategy would see the target company remain as a listed entity on the stock exchange. 

In this case however, they are aiming to acquire 100 per cent of G8’s shares which implies they are not behaving like activists but instead like private equity with a full take private funded by debt and equity commitments telegraphed in G8’s statement. 

So what will happen to G8 if the deal is successful?

Should the deal be successful G8 will be removed from the ASX and trade as a private company similar to Guardian Childcare and Kindergarten or Affinity Education Group. 

Like many of these types of deal the main activity occurs behind the scenes with regards optimising sources of funding like debt and equity in a manner that is sometimes termed “financial engineering” as the new owners work to optimise capital structures amidst a bid to stabilise long term funding channels. 

That being said, it is highly likely that Capital Partners will leverage its deep understanding of the G8’s actual business to effect change that will yield value to it as its new owner.

What sort of changes may occur?

At this stage it is difficult to know with certainty which way Capital Majority will go with G8. 

On one hand they may elect to take the cost and portfolio rationalisation strategy kicked off by G8’s current CEO back in April this year a step further and make additional cuts. But on the other hand the new team may elect, after many years of contracting the business,  to push for a return to growth by acquisition as a strategy going forward. 

Both have significant implications for current staff, families, children and the broader ECEC market. 

When will we know whether the deal is going to happen?

We will get the first real signal by late December as at that point the six week exclusivity period for due diligence will have completed.

If the deal is to proceed a binding agreement will be signed by both parties. If no agreement is signed the deal will lapse. 

Should a deal be signed the parties will work towards a shareholder vote and court approval both of which take time to organise and coordinate with a likely completion in early to mid 2027.