India, October 13, 2022: Veranda Learning Solutions Limited (“Veranda”), a public listed EdTech company (BSE: 543514, NSE: VERANDA), that offers a bouquet of training programs for competitive exam preparation, including State Public Service Commission, Banking, Insurance, Railways, IAS and CA, as well as, a slew of professional skilling and upskilling programs in trending technologies, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement for the acquisition of equity shares of J. K. Shah Education Pvt Ltd through its wholly owned subsidiary, Veranda XL Learning Solutions Pvt Ltd
The said transaction will be completed in two phases, with the first phase seeing the payment of 76% of the outstanding capital together for INR 337.82 Crs. The entire transaction will be funded through a combination of Debt and Equity.
J. K. Shah Classes has been a pioneer in coaching the CA, CS, and CMA aspirants in India for the last 39 years, and is one of the largest test-prep organisations in India. It currently operates through 75 centres located across 39 Indian cities and is headquartered in Mumbai. Professor J. K. Shah will continue to remain as Chairman for Life on the board and will guide the growth and strategy of the company.
Mr. J. K. Shah expressed his views on the partnership with Veranda Learning, “I am pleased to announce our coming together with Veranda Learning Solutions. This will allow us to leverage their technological prowess and deep network to further strengthen J. K. Shah Classes’ network and offerings. The J. K. Shah Classes brand has been an icon for quality coaching for nearly 39 years, and will continue to change the lives of future generations of students. This is a step forward in our journey and will help us provide offerings across different modalities.”
CA. Pooja Shah and CA. Vishal Shah will continue to lead the day-to-day operations as Chief Operating Officers. J. K. Shah Classes offers training programs for various commerce offerings including all levels of Chartered Accountancy and Company Secretaryship, CMA, Junior College, CFA, ACCA, etc., and holds a record of training around 90,000 students across courses every year. It has been recognized as India’s leading institute for CA test prep.
J. K. Shah Classes has a strong track record having produced 1,870 CA Rankers since 2001 and 214 CS Rankers since 2016, and has served the society with marquee alumni over the years. Some notable alumni include Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla who is an Indian industrialist and the Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group; Mr. Piyush Goyal who is the Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and a member of Rajya Sabha; and Mr. Nilesh Shah, Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company, etc.
Speaking about the acquisition, Mr. Kalpathi S. Suresh, Chairman and Executive Director, Veranda Learning Solutions, said, “We are happy to announce that today we have successfully achieved an important milestone. This acquisition is a crucial breakthrough into high-demand courses such as Chartered Accountancy (CA), as well as, a bouquet of financial and commerce courses. We believe ,with Veranda’s strength and technological capabilities coupled with J. K. Shah Classes’ strong brand recognition and legacy, we will both reach greater heights in the coming years. Veranda will leverage its expertise to establish J. K. Shah Classes’ presence in the South, North and East of India, along with strengthening their online and hybrid offerings. In our journey to become a one-stop shop for all the educational needs of students at a reasonable price, we at Veranda are committed to adding specialised companies to our portfolio. We believe this acquisition will drive strong profitability for Veranda going ahead.”
InCredMAPE and KPMG were the buy side advisors while InCorp Advisory was the sell side advisor for this deal.
