IFC, Everstone back India educational publisher
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has led a funding round for Indian textbook publisher S Chand, with participation by existing investor Everstone Capital.
The size of the round has not been disclosed, but various media outlets have reported that it was about $27 million. In a filing earlier this year, IFC indicated that it would commit INR1.1 billion ($17.2 million).
S Chand will use the new capital to expand its education publishing and services network in India. The Delhi-based company currently has offices in 26 cities nationwide, with printing facilities in Rudrapur and Sahibabad, and published 35 million textbooks in 2014.
In addition to its physical infrastructure, S Chand will also scale up its digital operations, which include tablet-based content delivery, online tutoring, and online test prep for government and university entrance examinations. It claims to have made over 4,000 hours of electronic educational content available to 20 million students in India.
Everstone has been an investor in S Chand since 2012, when it paid INR2 billion for a 35% stake. The GP closed its third India-focused fund in September at $730 million.
S Chand is the latest India education-focused investment this year by IFC. The group also committed $25 million to Lighthouse Funds' second mid-market fund, which focuses on education among other things, in October, and joined a Series C round for online education platform Coursera in August.
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