 "Deal done: Pearson buys out Educomp stake in IndiaCan")
British education and publishing conglomerate Pearson has finally bought out Educomp’s 50 percent shareholding in the vocational training company, IndiaCan, for an undisclosed amount, thereby scaling up its India operations.
With this buyout , Pearson has become the sole owner of IndiaCan, said a Pearson release.
Rumours of Pearson buying out Educomp from the JV have been circulating for well over a year. But the two sides never managed to reach an agreement on the valuation. Ro hin Dharmakumar had first posted about this deal on 4 April. The report had said that the deal was stuck because Educompwanted a premium in return for ceding control in the company, while Pearson was wary of paying that because the business has yet to start making any profits. ( Read more here )
In 2009, Pearson and Educomp had started IndiaCan Education Pvt. Ltd. to offer vocational training.
“Taking complete ownership of IndiaCan represents another milestone for our ambitious plans in India and follows a similar buy out at TutorVista, the Bangalore-based learning services company,” said Bhavneet Singh, president, Global English and informal learning at Pearson India.
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Educomp shares fell 4% to close at Rs.57.70 on Tuesday.[/caption]
“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,” he added.
In February, Pearson had acquired 100 percent stake in TutorVista, the Bangalore based education services company with interest in schools, online tutoring and Internet and communication technologies.
Read more on How Educomp pays for its over ambition