Kenro Capital, an investment firm formed recently by Piyush Gupta, the former head of strategic development at Peak XV, has invested $40 million (Rs 240 crore) in education player K12 Techno Services Pvt Ltd in a mix of primary and secondary deal.
The investment marks Kenro’s first investment from its growth-stage-focused secondaries fund that will back companies in India and Southeast Asia. As a part of the investment, Kenro will acquire a minority stake in K12 Techno.
“We are thrilled to partner with Kenro Capital, as Piyush and Norbert bring invaluable expertise in preparing companies for public markets and in assessing and executing acquisitions,” said Jai Decosta, chief executive, K12 Techno Services. “Their agility in executing this investment demonstrates their alignment with our vision, making them ideal partners at this pivotal stage of our growth journey.”
The latest round of investment comes about seven months after K12 secured $27 million from Singapore-based private equity player Venturi Partners in a secondary transaction, providing exit to Navneet Learning, owned by listed player Navneet Education. At the time, K12 was valued at about Rs 4,398 crore (nearly $527 million), as per estimates.
K12 Techno – the operator of Orchids International Schools–was incorporated in March 2010 by M Venkatanarayana and his son MSC Srikanth to provide education services to state board schools under the name Sri Gowtham Academy of General and Technical Education (SGATE).
Currency, K12 Techno Services provides management services to ICSE/CBSE curriculum schools from kindergarten to X-XII, based in large metros like Bengaluru among others. It also operates business-to- business (B2B) vertical Lets Eduvate, and e-commerce store SparkleBox.
“K12 Techno’s scale enables unparalleled advantages in multiple areas of student engagement, teacher recruitment, infrastructure, and cutting-edge IT and curriculum development, distinguish it from standalone education institutions,” said Gupta.
“K12 Techno aligns well with Kenro’s strategy of investing in growth-stage companies with significant revenue scale and profitability, primarily through secondary transactions,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kenro Capital will target minority stake in growth companies that have achieved revenue scale across various sectors, are profitable/near-profitable, and are well placed for a public listing in 2-3 years post investment. It has a ticket size of $20-30 million, though it is open to larger amounts through co-investment opportunities.