KKR set to acquire 90% stake in EuroKids for Rs 1,400 cr

• The EuroKids Group operates pre-schools, schools -Billabong High and Kangaroo Kids -and daycare centers under the same brand name.
• KKR‘s earlier education investment includes Cognita Schools based in the UK and Laureate International Universities based in the United States.

Private equity firm KKR may acquire 90 percent stake in EuroKids Group from Gaja Capital and the company’s founders.  According to sources that are conscious of the transaction, the agreement will be made in a single tranche of Rs 1,400 crore or $200 million. They added that at the end of this month the agreement will be finished.

Earlier, KKR’s control agreements included Ramky Enviro Engineers‘ 60% buyout for $530 million and Max Healthcare‘s majority stake in India.  The EuroKids agreement marks its foray into space, but KKR has carried out operations across geographies in education globally.

General Atlantic, a growth capital firm, had expressed interest in an agreement with EuroKids, sources informed the paper. This is going to be KKR’s third agreement this year in India after it purchased controlling stakes from Ramky Enviro Engineers and Max Healthcare. Read more from NBB

In December 2018, Radiant Life Care, supported by KKR, purchased Max Healthcare. A few months before the agreement, for $530 million (about Rs 3,700 crore), KKR purchased 60 percent stake in Ramky Enviro Engineers.

KKR’s earlier education investment includes Cognita Schools based in the UK and Laureate International Universities based in the United States. Together, Gaja Capital and the Swiss fund Partners Group hold some 75% of EuroKids ‘ stake. Initially, the two businesses purchased a 50% stake in 2013.

The EuroKids Group, founded in 2001 by partners Prajodh Rajan and Vikas Phadnis, manages pre-schools and schools up to Class 12 and operates a model of the franchise in India as well. Eurokids International Pvt Ltd, Euroschool Properties & Infrastructure and Euroschool International are part of the EuroKids Group. It also owns Billabong High and Kangaroo Kids schools.

In FY18, the group produced income from Rs 350 crore and latest around Rs 450 crore. It has grown around 22 percent a year, sources said, adding that its approach has been to provide quality education across the country at strategic places.

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