Bodhi Tree Systems invests $600 Mn in Kota-based ALLEN

ALLEN Career Institute and Bodhi Tree Systems have announced a strategic partnership in which the latter will invest $600 million in the Kota-famed offline coaching institute.

Bodhi Tree Systems is a newly formed platform between Lupa Systems founder and CEO James Murdoch and Uday Shankar, the former president of The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific.

The investment by Bodhi Tree will help scale the company and it will leverage digital technology to improve learning outcomes for students in test-prep and K12 segments in India and beyond, said ALLEN in a release. 

Entrackr was the first to report about the development in January.

While ALLEN did not disclose its valuation, Entrackr sources had said that Lupa is likely to pick a 30-35% stake in the company at a valuation close to $1.2 billion.

Founded by Rajesh Maheshwari in 1988, ALLEN is a test prep brand that provides offline, digital and distance courses for IIT JEE, AIPMT, NEET-UG, KVPY, and the Olympiads. According to the company, it has a pan-India footprint with a growing presence in the Middle East through 138 classroom centres in 46 cities. 

For Bodhi Tree Systems, it will leverage its founders’ shared track record of building consumer businesses to build ALLEN into a digital education business of the future. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is an investor in Bodhi Tree Systems whereas Lupa Systems has invested in Indian edtech companies such as Doubtnut and Harappa Education. The investment firm also backed DailyHunt’s parent VerSe Innovation.

As per media reports, Lupa Systems is looking for about $150 million each from fewer than half-a-dozen family offices.

ALLEN is one of the largest investments in an offline coaching institute in India. Previously, Byju's had acquired Aakash Educational Services in a deal of nearly $1 billion.