The Kalpathi AGS Group-owned edtech company Veranda Learning Solutions has filed draft papers with market regulator Securities and Exchanges Board of India for an initial public offering.

The Chennai-based company is looking to raise ₹200 crore through a primary issue of equity shares. It said it may also look at pre-IPO placement of equity shares up to ₹50 crore for a cash consideration in consultation with the book running lead manager (BRLM).

Veranda Learning Solutions, which commenced operations in December 2020, offers diversified and integrated learning solutions in online, offline-hybrid and offline-blended formats to students, aspirants, graduates, professionals and corporate employees.

Previous acquisitions

Less than a month after its launch, it acquired Chennai RACE coaching institute which focuses on banking and competitive exam coaching for a transaction valued at over ₹100 crore. In September, it acquired Bengaluru-based upskilling edtech platform Edureka for ₹245 crore.

According to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), during the seven-month period ending October 31, a total of 31,851 students and professionals have enrolled across all its courses with 11,793 offline and 20,058 under the online model.

Fund use

Of the net proceeds from the IPO, the company will use ₹60 crore for repayment or prepayment of its borrowings, ₹25.18 crore towards acquisition consideration of Edureka, and ₹50 crore for growth initiatives.

Kalpathi S Aghoram, Kalpathi S Ganesh and Kalpathi S Suresh are the promoters with a 32 per cent stake each in the company. Systematix Corporate Services is the BRLM to the issue.

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