Veranda Learning Solutions, a Chennai-headquartered digital learning platform offering test preparation courses for various competitive exams, has signed an agreement to acquire equity shares of J. K. Shah Education, per an announcement.
The investment will be routed through Veranda XL Learning Solutions.
The proposed transaction, which will be funded through a combination of debt and equity, will be completed in two tranches.
In the first phase, Veranda, which is a publicly-listed entity, will make a payment of 76% of the outstanding capital for ₹337.82 crore.
J.K. Shah Classes claims to be a pioneer in coaching chartered accountancy aspirants in India for the last 39 years. It has offices in 39 Indian cities such as Ahmedabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru, besides its headquarters in Mumbai.
After the transaction, Professor J. K. Shah will continue to be the chairman and guide the company’s growth and strategy.
“This [transaction] will allow us to leverage their [Veranda Learning’s] technological prowess and deep network to further strengthen J. K. Shah Classes’ network and offerings,” said Shah. “This is a step forward in our journey and will help us provide offerings across different modalities,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kalpathi S. Suresh, chairman and executive director at Veranda Learning Solutions, added: “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.”
Veranda Learning Solutions, established in 2018, offers programmes to students preparing for competitive exams such as the state public service commission, banking, insurance, railways, IAS, and CA. Besides, it also offers professional skilling and upskilling programmes in trending technologies.