Bodhi Tree Buys Strategic Stake In Allen Career, Second Deal In A Week

The deal is expected to close in three months subject to regulatory approvals.

“Education is a critical consumer need, driven by its deeply transformative impact on lives and livelihoods of consumers”, Murdoch and Shankar said in a joint statement. “We believe that education is on the cusp of a technology led renaissance that will fundamentally alter how education is imparted and will increase its efficacy.”

The investment will help scale Allen’s Indian operations through technology and expand its base in the Middle-east, Keshav Maheshwari, from the second generation of the Maheshwari Family, that founded Allen Career Institute, said.

This is Bodhi Tree’s second investment in a week. On January 27, it led a ₹13,500 crore ($1.76 billion) investment for a 40% stake in in Reliance-backed Viacom18.

Earlier in February, Bodhi Tree Systems secured a $1.5 billion investment from Qatar’s sovereign fund Qatar Investment Authority.

The platform is an entity established in 2021 by James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems and Uday Shankar and makes strategic investments in consumer technology across South and Southeast Asia and the Middle East, with a particular focus on India, it said.

Bodhi Tree expects to invest in consumer technology sectors that represent significant opportunities but “suffer from a lack of capital and innovation” – including media, healthcare and education, the company said.

Allen Career Institute, founded in 1988 by Rajesh Maheshwari, provides coaching to students preparing for various college entrance exams like the Joint Entrance Exam, which is a standardised test for admission into the Indian Institute of Technology and other engineering colleges.

It also provides coaching for pre-medical exams such as the NEET, and other competitive exams for students between classes VI and X including the olympiads. Allen has over 138 classroom centres in 46 cities across India and the Middle East.

“Our partnership with Bodhi Tree is an essential ingredient in furthering our mission to significantly increase Allen’s reach and impact”, founder Rajesh Maheshwari said.

EY acted as the exclusive financial advisor. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas provided legal advisory and documentation support to Allen while AZB & Partners were the legal advisors to Bodhi Tree.