Bodhi Tree Systems, led by James Murdoch and Uday Shankar, will buy a strategic stake in Kota-based Allen Career Institute for USD 600 million (around Rs 4,590 core), a joint statement said on Sunday.
Allen Career Institute's Managing Director Keshav Maheshwari said the majority of the investment will be utilised for the company's foray into the edtech space, followed by expansion of offline centres, both in India and overseas.
"Our partnership with Bodhi Tree will not only help us scale our Indian operations through technology but also fuel our growth journey in the Middle East," Maheshwari added.
The transaction is expected to close within three months and is subject to closing conditions and requisite approvals. "USD 600 million investment by Bodhi Tree will help scale India's biggest and most successful test-prep company, leverage digital technology to dramatically improve learning outcomes for students in India and beyond," the statement said.
Allen has a pan-India footprint with a growing presence in the Middle East through 138 classroom centres in 46 cities. "Most of the edtech products and services in the market are currently not solving the needs of a student.
With Allen's time-tested pedagogy and Bodhi Tree's track record in technology, the 2 T's - 'Teaching' and 'Technology', will now come together to finally solve the problems of millions of students of outcome-driven learning in a tech-enabled environment," Allen Chairman-designate of the new board, Brajesh Maheshwari said . Bodhi Tree Systems is a newly formed platform between Lupa Systems founder and CEO James Murdoch, son of media baron Rupert Murdoch, and Uday Shankar, the former president of The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific and former chairman of Star and Disney India.
Bodhi Tree Systems will leverage its founders' shared track record of building consumer businesses to build Allen into a digital education business of the future.
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, is an investor in Bodhi Tree Systems. "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," James Murdoch said.
Also read: Uday Shankar, James Murdoch's firm to invest Rs 13,500 cr in RIL-backed Viacom18