The private equity arm of brokerage CLSA said on Tuesday it has invested $22 million for a minority stake in Indian education specialist Resonance Eduventures, the latest in a string of recent investments from the fund.
Indians' obsession with schooling combined with woeful public education and rising incomes means private equity firms like CLSA Capital Partners (CLSACP) are hunting for opportunities in the country's booming but fragmented for-profit education sector.
Resonance, founded in 2001, is one of India's largest test preparation coaching institutes, focusing on entrance exams for engineering and medical sciences.
CLSA Capital Partners projects the Indian test preparation market will reach $3.4 billion by 2012, led by a huge demand for bachelor's degrees.
“Resonance…is very well positioned to capitalise on increasing future demand,” Richard Pyvis, Executive Chairman of CLSACP said in a statement.
Resonance has over 38 centres across 18 Indian cities and has trained over 125,000 students.
CLSACP, with $2.7 billion in assets under management, invested in Resonance through its $333 million ARIA Investment Partners III L.P. fund. The firm also invested $12 million in Hong Kong company 2% Limited in September from the same fund.
CLSACP also recently closed two Indonesia deals, investing $15 million into PT SariWangi AEA, Indonesia's largest private tea company, and $20 million in vehicle financing firm Sinar Mitra Sepadan Finance.
Source: Reuters