In one of the biggest deals in India's education sector, private equity firm Navis Capital Partners has invested $30 million in Edutech. The PE firm has acquired a majority stake of between 55-80% in Edutech, which provides post-graduate and part-time executive programmes, reports Pei-Asia. The investment in Edutech has been done from Navis V, which raised more than $1 billion in 2007. Edutech has revenues of Rs 55 crore ($11 mn) and seven branches spread across the country. It offers courses in areas like finance, healthcare, hotel management and hospitality.
With this investment, Edutech is planning to open five more campuses and also offer courses in areas like law and engineering. Education, till now has seen growth capital deployment from the PE investors, this would be one of the first controlled transactions in the space.
PE Interest In Education Continues To Increase
Education sector has been increasingly attracting interest from private equity and venture capital investors, especially in the recent times. The investors are attracted by the non-cyclical nature and the huge opportunity presented by this under-served sector in India. The private spending on education is increasing by 14% CAGR and is expected to reach $80 billion by 2012, says a IDFC-SSKI report. Also this sector has managed to give some of the best returns to investors in India's short history of PE & VC industry. Gaja Capital Partners made 24X from their investment in educational technology company Educomp Solutions Ltd. UTI Venture also made 50x on its investment in e-learning firm Excelsoft. Malaysia-based Navis Capital has a strategy of buying majority stake into companies. Late last year, the PE fund acquired a 62% stake BSE-listed lubricants manufacturer SahPetroleums. It has also invested in Delhi-based fast food chain Nirula's and Mumbai-based call center Andromeda.
Source: VCCIRCLE
