Singapore-based growth equity firm Venturi Partners has purchased a $27-million stake in edtech platform, K12 Techno Services Private Limited through a secondary deal. The investment provides a partial exit for Navneet Learning LLP, a subsidiary of Navneet Education Limited, which sold 5.12% of its existing stake in the company.
The transaction was done at a valuation of around $540 million, according to sources. The development comes after Kedaara had in September last year led a funding round which saw around `1,300-1,500 crore coming in at a valuation of $420 million, while giving Peak XV a partial exit.
The sale at a premium comes at a time when PE deals in the consumer internet space, including in edtechs, have largely been dominated by down rounds.
Investing from its $180-million maiden fund, Venturi joined other shareholders including Peak XV Partners, Kedaara Capital, and Sofina Ventures in backing K12 Techno. The company offers end-to-end academic services to over 800 private schools across India, with more than 300,000 students enrolled.
The firm, which runs the chain of Orchids International Schools, posted a revenue of around `382.7 crore in FY23, up from `166.8 crore in FY22, according to data from Tracxn. During the same period, the firm’s losses came down from `248.3 crore in FY22 to `38.8 crore in FY23.
According to Jai Decosta, MD and CEO of K-12 Techno Services, the company which has not filed its audited FY24 results as of yet, expects to have crossed the `400-crore revenue mark, and gotten closer to profitability during the fiscal. The company which claims to have grown at a CAGR of 40% over the last five years has raised around $127 million so far.
“We are aligning with K12 Techno’s mission to improve education outcomes through holistic tech-enabled learning at scale,” said Nicholas Cator, founding partner at Venturi Partners.
The deal adds to Venturi’s portfolio of consumer investments like Livspace, Country Delight and Pickup Coffee.Decosta said the partnership with Venturi would help accelerate the company’s growth and enhance its offerings in the K-12 education segment in India.
As reported earlier in February, K12 Techno has been rebuffing bigger players wanting to take them over. “For the first five years, we were iterating solutions, and obviously weren’t attractive to big players. Over the past few years, however, on the basis of our strong numbers and positive sentiment amongst users, we have received multiple such queries,” Decosta had said then without naming the potential acquirers. “We aren’t keen on selling right now. What we increasingly realise is that there are very few players actually adding value in the space, and doing so in a sustainable manner,” he had added.