Manipal Global raises $110 mn from StanChart

Manipal Global, the Rs 1,000-crore higher-education and vocational training major, is understood to have raised $110 million as debt from Standard Chartered Bank. The debt is aimed at refinancing the loan the company had earlier taken from ICICI Bank.

According to investment bankers close to Manipal Group, nearly $55 million of the $110 million borrowed was used to repay the loan from ICICI Bank. The rest would be used to fund the company’s expansion plans. Manipal Global’s management team did not comment on the transaction.

Manipal Global is among the few companies in the country in which both Azim Premji’s private equity fund and N R Narayana Murthy’s Catamaran Venture have stakes. The bankers further added with the fresh infusion of funds, Manipal Global would step up the expansion of its campuses. It is also expected to foray into Sri Lanka and Africa. Currently, Manipal Global has three universities, Manipal University, Sikkim Manipal University and the American University of Antigua. It also has about 30 other institutions, besides university campuses in Dubai, Malaysia and Nepal.

It is understood about 60 per cent of its revenue of Rs 1,000 crore is accounted for by its global campuses. Also, with Manipal Global increasing its footprint across the world, the share of revenue from Indian operations is expected to decline.

The company’s recent move follows a series of private equity deals in the past few years, through which it had raised about Rs 800 crore from marquee global and Indian funds, including Capital International, IDFC Private Equity, Kotak Private Equity. It also raised Rs 200 crore each from Azim Premji Fund and Catamaran Ventures. Last year, Manipal Global was readying for an initial public offering with an enterprise valuation of about $1 billion. However, it had to shelve the plan, owing to the volatile market scenario. Manipal Global may revisit the public offering plan in the next financial year.

Manipal Global Education Services has made strategic investments in emerging companies, including MeritTrac, a pan-India skills assessment and testing company and U21 Global, a global online graduate school. Manipal Education has also joined hands with City & Guilds to offer a skills training programme called IndiaSkills. In its investment in TutorVista, Manipal Global reaped a blockbuster exit when Pearson acquired the majority stake in two steps, by paying about Rs 650 crore for a stake of 76 per cent in the company.