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Emeritus, a part of edtech unicorn Eruditus Group, has secured $350 million in debt financing from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board through its subsidiary CPPIB Credit Investments Inc. The capital raised will be used for mergers and acquisitions as a part the company’s growth strategy.
The pipeline of potential acquisitions is expected to contribute up to 30 per cent of Emeritus’ top line and EBITDA in the next five years.
Post completion of the debt financing round, Emeritus will have raised more than $1 billion in debt and equity. CPP Investments also participated in Emeritus’ $650 million funding round in August 2021, valuing Emeritus’ at $3.2 billion, quadrupling its Series D valuation from August 2020.
Emeritus investors also include Accel, Softbank Vision Fund 2, GSV, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Leeds Illuminate and Prosus, as well as Sequoia Capital India and Bertelsmann and Chimera.
‘Making education accessible’
Ashwin Damera, Co-founder & CEO, Emeritus and Eruditus, said, “Emeritus will expand our mission of making education accessible around the world by deepening our investment in the education space to reach different segments and audiences. Our acquisition pipeline will enable us to accelerate growth, impact more learners, and improve our profitability.”
Raymond Chan, Managing Director, Head of APAC Credit, CPP Investments, said, “The investment in Emeritus demonstrates our continued commitment to support industry leaders in India, one of our key markets in Asia Pacific. The investment is also aligned with our strategy of pursuing high quality credit investments across Asia Pacific and delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns for our contributors and beneficiaries.”
Growth projections
Emeritus is seeing a y-o-y growth of 120 per cent and estimates gross bookings of $500 million for the financial year. As the company continues to grow 2.5x organically, Emeritus will also accelerate growth through inorganic initiatives.
In FY21, Emeritus reached learners in more than 80 countries and offered programs through partnerships with more than 50 of the world’s top universities. In 2021, Emeritus acquired Silicon Valley-based iD Tech, a world leader in youth STEM education, which marked Emeritus’ expansion into the K12 space.
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