Veranda Learning agrees to acquire test-prep institute T.I.M.E. for INR 287 crore

Veranda Learning Solutions, an Indian education company, signed a definitive agreement to acquire the test-preparation institute T.I.M.E., formally Advanced Educational Activities Pvt Ltd, for INR 287 crore, according to reports published on April 26, 2022. Veranda's board approved the purchase at a meeting on April 25. The deal covers 100% of T.I.M.E. and was structured in phases: Veranda would first acquire 80% of the outstanding capital along with management control, then buy the remaining 20% after two years, subject to closing conditions.

T.I.M.E. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Hyderabad. At the time of the deal it ran 188 centers, including franchisees, across 98 cities, and said it had trained about 2.2 million students since inception, with roughly 110,000 a year. Its courses covered entrance exams such as CAT, CLAT, JEE, NEET, CUET, GATE, bank and staff selection exams, as well as GMAT, GRE, IELTS and TOEFL and campus recruitment training. The company said about 37,000 unique test takers used its online CAT mock test series, AIMCAT.

The acquisition also brought in two adjacent businesses. Amoha Education, a T.I.M.E. subsidiary, has offered spoken English training since 1981 through classroom and distance programs, and the T.I.M.E. Kids brand ran 222 preschools in 56 cities. Veranda chairman Kalpathi Suresh said the deal would widen the company's national reach and diversify it into preschool and language training. Inc42 reported that the purchase marked Veranda's entry into MBA, JEE and NEET test preparation, and the board also approved raising the company's authorized capital from INR 60 crore to INR 100 crore. InCred MAPE and JSA advised Veranda, while KPMG India and Begur & Partners advised T.I.M.E.

Veranda was founded in 2020 as the edtech arm of the Kalpathi Group and offered test preparation for banking, insurance and railway exams along with skilling courses. The company had listed on the BSE on April 11, 2022, at an issue price of INR 137 per share, about two weeks before announcing the deal. T.I.M.E.'s founders said the combination of Veranda's technology and franchising background with T.I.M.E.'s network would benefit students, noting that most competitive exams had moved online.