RSS FeedMahesh Tutorials Lands $12 Million Funding From Helix Investments
Wed, 08/29/2007 - 18:49 — Sahad P V
This will be the second instance of institutional financing in the preparatory or tutorial business in India. Mumbai-based Mahesh Tutorials has landed $12 million investment from the Mauritius-based India-focused fund Helix Investments, reports Business Standard and The Times of India. Helix will pick up a 30 per cent stake in the company, MT Educare Pvt Ltd, which provides coaching for engineering and medical entrance tests, aptitude test preparation and vocational skills training. Helix has one board seat.
A few years ago, MBA admission test coaching company Career Launcher had received investment from Intel Capital, which was the first known investment by a venture capital fund in the business. Mahesh's will probably be the second.
Helix is an India-focused investment fund backed by members of the Cullman and Bloomingdale families of New York. David Danziger, Director, Helix Investments, told TOI that the firm invested $12 million since it was impressed with the ‘‘future growth plans’’ of the company.
The funds will be used for national expansion and also to venture into newer areas like corporate training, according to Mahesh Shetty, founder and chairman of the company MT Educare Private Ltd. It currently has revenues of Rs 36 crore, which is expected to touch Rs 75 crore in the next financial year, says the TOI report. Polymath Advisors was the exclusive advisor for the transaction.
Helix has earlier invested in Goodlife Integrated Fitness Solutions, an India-based healthy prepared food delivery company doing business as Calorie Care, and OSi, a medical transcription outsourcing company.
It's likely now more tutorial companies that have scalable business models could get funding. Kota-based Career Point is one such company, while Delhi-based FIITJEE also has revenues in the range of Rs 30-40 crore. It's a highly fragmented business, although cash rich.
Comments
career launchers has been funded by intel corp to the tune of 10 million $ in 2000. they bought many companies with that money
Let me share a dirty little secret of the IITJEE coaching industry. Almost all the school students (stdd 11 and 12) who join these classes (like Kota and Delhi) are given fake schoool admissions. Their attendance in school is ensured (through fake means in coaching classes' sponsored schools) while the kids diligently prepare for IITJEE at the coaching classes (without attending any classes in schools, which by law, they are supposed to, else they are ineligible for writing the JEE itself). What kind of biz model is this? Supposing the govt were to really clamp down heavily on these? Overnight, the revenues would evaporate.
all these private tutorials, coaching classes and other such parallel education enterprises are NOT a good investment destinations. Many reasons - (1) poor profit margins (2) deeply fragmented marketplaces (3) zero entry barriers for new players (4) almost impossible to corporatise (5) totally individual branding driven (6) high HR costs (rapidly rising each year) (7) Indians' distrust of "profit" as a motive in education. Mind my words, in just a few years, all these investments will go dud. D-U-D. Keep watching.
planning is everything
mahesh tutorials always work on the great idea of planning
and i think growth is a fruit of good planning
mahesh tutorials is know by its name and excellent people
the great work by great planning with great people