Laureate Education Inc. on Dec. 12 signed a deal to divest its universities in Spain and Portugal to a company backed by funds managed by U.K.-based private equity firm Permira for €770 million, subject to regulatory and accreditation approvals.

The institutions included in the sale are Universidad Europea de Madrid, Universidad Europea de Valencia and Universidad Europea de Canarias in Spain as well as Universidade Europeia and Instituto Português de Administração de Marketing in Portugal.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2019, according to the news release.

Goldman Sachs & Co. Inc. acted as exclusive financial adviser to Laureate Education, while Allen & Overy acted as legal adviser. Linklaters acted as legal advisers to Permira, while Barclays acted as financial adviser.

Laureate Education is the largest global network of higher education institutions in the world.