Educomp to invest Rs 150 cr in Great Lakes institute

Educomp Solutions Ltd would invest Rs 150 crore in Great Lakes Institute of Management, a management institute based in Chennai.

S Sriram, executive director, Great Lakes Institute of Management, told Business Standard that the investment would be spread across 3-5 years and would be utilised to set up campus in Delhi, Mumbai and one in eastern India.

“We are also looking at setting up campuses in other developing countries and in Africa. Each centre would require an investment of around Rs 30-40 crore”, he said.

Sriram said Great Lakes would not dilute any stake. “Instead it will come out with a product like e-learning which will suit Educomp requirements. Great Lakes will provide faculty and brand, while technology and marketing will be provided by Educomp and both the partners will share the revenue.”

Chennai-based Great Lakes offers courses in business and management studies, and courses focusing on investment analysis, market research, strategic management, and business communication.

The management school has prominent industrialists as members of its advisory council including Ratan N Tata, chairman, Tata Sons Ltd, Madhur Bajaj, vice chairman, Bajaj Auto Ltd, Kumarmangalam Birla, chairman, Aditya Birla group, Jamshyd N Godrej, CMD, Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd, N R Narayana Murthy of Infosys, among others.

Educomp has recently bought a majority stake in Bangalore-based test preparation company Gateforum Educational Services. The other major acquisitions include Zaptive Internet Services Pvt Ltd, Takshila Management Services Pvt Ltd, EuroKids International Pvt Ltd.

Educomp has also launched a Rs 50 crore venture capital fund, which will be managed by its subsidiary Educomp Investment Management Limited. The fund has made its first investment in Beacon Learning, a management and services provider for higher education institutions.