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Business News/ Companies / News/  Pearson acquires 50% stake of Educomp in IndiaCan
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Pearson acquires 50% stake of Educomp in IndiaCan

Pearson, which acquired the stake in IndiaCan for an undisclosed amount, will take complete control of the firm

In 2009, both Pearson and Educomp started IndiaCan, a vocational education company to train blue collar workers. Photo: Mint (Mint)Premium
In 2009, both Pearson and Educomp started IndiaCan, a vocational education company to train blue collar workers. Photo: Mint
(Mint)

New Delhi: Publishing and education services company Pearson Plc has bought the entire 50% stake of Educomp Solutions Ltd in IndiaCan, a vocational training firm they jointly started in 2009, for an undisclosed amount.

“Taking complete ownership of IndiaCan represents another milestone for our ambitious plans in India and follows a similar buyout at TutorVista, the Bangalore-based learning services company," said Bhavneet Singh, president, global English and informal learning, at Pearson India.

In February, the London-listed Pearson completed its acquisition of TutorVista, which runs schools and provides tuitions over the Internet.

“Pearson has a good expansion plan for India, and they are taking the inorganic path," said Dhiraj Mathur, executive director and leader, education practice, at auditing and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Vocational training in India is a $20 billion business annually, according to a July 2011 report by Kotak Securities Ltd, a brokerage. Around 475 million people will need training by fiscal 2022, it said.

Pearson is upbeat on the skills-training space in India. “IndiaCan has developed market leading expertise in retail and vocational training and support, that will supplement Pearson’s goal to help improve learning outcomes for students throughout India," said Singh.

Educomp, whose stock price on the BSE has fallen as much as 88% in the past 24 months, has been trying to focus on its core business of providing digital whiteboards in classrooms and running schools.

“Exiting IndiaCan is in line with our stated consolidation strategy and business transformation agenda," Educomp chairman and managing director Shantanu Prakash said. “As part of agenda to focus on core businesses, we are successfully making one more divestment and thus saving the company from the need of funding the losses and other capital needs of a non-core business."

Last month, Educomp sold its entire 50% stake in preschool chain Eurokid, another joint venture, to a group of investors led by GPE India, for an undisclosed amount.

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Published: 09 Apr 2013, 03:39 PM IST
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