Educomp Solutions Ltd has bought a majority stake in Bangalore-based test preparation company Gateforum Educational Services Pvt Ltd. Gateforum provides preparatory tools for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), an entrance test for post-graduate courses in technical institutes such as IITs and NITs. Educomp’s expects the Gateforum investment to expand its presence and reach in the test preparation segment.
Educomp has also launched a venture capital fund for the education sector – Indian Education Fund which will be managed by Educomp’s wholly owned subsidiary Educomp Investment Management Limited. Educomp Solutions is anchoring the fund with Rs.50 crore investment.
The fund has made its first investment in Beacon Learning Pvt Ltd, a management and services provider for higher education instituions. Gateforum provides classroom coaching, eTutor (online), TarGate (online and Offline test series) and distance-learning programmes.
It has trained more than 15,500 students for GATE 2011 and is present in more than 40 cities through a mix of own and franchisee centres. This is Educomp’s second acquisition in the $1.7 billion test preparation segment. Last year in August, it acquired a majority stake in engineering test prepration player Vidya Mandir Classes Pvt Ltd (VMC). The company also taps this market through Leap, a satellite based IIT JEE Coaching Institute.
Educomp has been aggressively acquiring companies to consolidate its position as the largest education company in India. Its past acquisitions include Zaptive Internet Services Pvt Ltd which runs Studyplaces.com (Jan’09), Takshila Management Services Pvt Ltd (Oct’08), Eurokids International Pvt Ltd (Sep’08), A-Plus Education Solutions Pvt Ltd (July’08), Learning.com (May’08) and AuthorGen Technologies Pvt Ltd (Aug’07).
Beacon is led by former MD of Tiger Global Management – Mohan Lakhamraju. Beacon provides services to improve academic quality, industry relevance and employability. It currently reaches to over 3,000 students and 15 programs across India. Educomp Solutions Limited , founded in 1994 is a globally diversified education solutions provider and the largest education company in India.
Educomp Group reaches out to over 26,000 schools and 15 million learners and educators across the world. The firm has 27 offices worldwide including an office in Canada, 20 in India, two in Singapore, one in Sri Lanka, and three in the United States. In addition, the Company operates through its various subsidiaries including authorGEN, Threebrix eServices, Learning.com, USA, AsknLearn Pte Ltd, Singapore and via its associates such as Savvica in Canada.
