In the aftermath of rapid shift to online learning in education since 2020 (which noted the swift growth of the edtech market), the Indian test prep market clocked a strong growth and is slated to $7.22 billion at a CAGR of nearly 14% during 2021-25. And, a new investment from Bodhi Tree will accelerate that growth, as James Murdoch and Uday Shankar’s latest investment venture will be acquiring a significant minority stake in popular Indian after-school coaching chain, Allen Career Institute.
Bodhi Tree will be putting in $600 million (which comes to around ₹4500 crores) in Allen Career Institute. With Bodhi Tree’s investment, Allen Career will be valued at over $1 billion. It is expected that the transaction will close within three months and is currently subject to closing conditions and requisite approvals.
This is the second time in as many weeks that Bodhi Tree has made the headlines for pumping in capital in a big player in an industry. Last week, Bodhi Tree announced a $1.76Bn investment in Reliance Industries’ Viacom 18 TV network. Bodhi Tree itself was launched this February and on the very same day, it received a backing of $1.5 billion from the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
According to Allen Career Institute’s Managing Director Keshav Maheshwari, majority of the investment will be deployed towards Allen’s venture into the edtech space, which has clocked a strong growth during the pandemic and reaped the benefits of the shift to online classes.
Funds will also be utilized towards the expansion of its domestic and overseas offline centers as it aims to scale its operations in the country through technology and fuel its growth in the Middle East.
One of India’s premier test prep coaching institutes, the 34-year-old Allen helps students prepare for a host of exams, such as IIT JEE Mains & Advanced, NEET-UG, KVPY, and Olympiads. Today, the Kota-headquartered coaching institute, which provides stiff competition to (now) Byju’s-owned Aakash, has a presence across 46 cities in India (including Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Gwalior, Chandigarh, and Indore) and the Middle East and operates 138 classroom centers.
“Education is a critical consumer need, driven by its deeply transformative impact on the lives and livelihoods of consumers. We believe that education is on the cusp of a technology-led renaissance that will fundamentally alter how education is imparted and will increase its efficacy. Allen’s unrivaled success and scale provide the right foundation to build the digital education company of the future. We are excited to work with the Maheshwari family to build an outcomes-focused digital education company that delivers on the aspirations of millions of learners and parents in India and beyond,” Murdoch and Shankar said in a joint statement.
