Education-technology firm upGrad said Tuesday it has entered the recruitment segment through the acquisition of Rekrut India Pvt. Ltd, a recruitment and staffing services company.
The development comes less than a month after VCCircle exclusively reported that Mumbai-based upGrad – founded by Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar and Phalgun Kompalli – had acquired test-preparation firm The Gate Academy (TGA).
Rekrut India – also based in Mumbai – provides organisations human capital solutions through a network of more than 100 experts as well as multiple hiring models. It works with several startups, MSMEs and large enterprises.
The acquisition will help upGrad ramp up its offerings and provide access to wider placement opportunities for learners on its platform, it said in a statement.
Rekrut India will continue to operate independently under current managing director Ajay Shah.
“Our M&A strategy is focused towards building a wider higher education and career ecosystem and Rekrut fits in perfectly with its capabilities to drive tangible return on investment for our learners,” said Gaurav Kumar, president for corporate development at upGrad.
This acquisition comes nearly eight months after upGrad said it had set aside Rs 50 crore (around $7 million) to make up to three acquisitions to augment and expand its product portfolio.
Other segments that the company is said to be looking at making acquisitions in include the software-as-a-service space as well as skill development.
According to VCCEdge, the data research arm of Mosaic Digital, the company reported net sales of Rs 85.14 crore for the 2018-19 financial year.
“Our point is to acquire 100% [of a company],” Screwvala had told VCCircle in an interaction at the time of its acquisition of TGA. “The founder is then motivated enough to stay and build this to the next level.”
