Manipal Education buys HSBC's stake in MeritTrac

The Bangalore-based Manipal Education Group (MEG) has picked up a little over 40 per cent stake MeritTrac, a skills assessment and testing firm for around Rs 30 crore. MEG is an education provider in the private sector offering professional as well as vocational courses.

MEG said it will merge MeritTrac with its own fledgling online testing unit Pariksha and will hold 70 per cent in this new firm.

This move by MEG to acquire 40 per cent in MeritTrac gives an exit to a fund managed by HSBC in which it is doubling its investment in a matter of just over an year when it invested close to Rs 17 crore during late 2005. The promoters of MeritTrac will hold 30 per cent in the new firm.

The new company will continue to be own as MeritTrac and will now include both online and offline testing and assessment for both corporates and education. While MeritTrac was already conducting offline and online assessment and testing for corporates like Microsoft, Accenture and Wipro, it will now add schools and colleges also.

At present, MEG's online testing centres are present in 19 cities across India. MEG now also wants to expand MeriTrac to international markets.

"We will expand MeritTrac to developing countries like Philippines and Thailand which are similar to India and where the competition is not to much. We also want to expand into every district in India," MEG's Managing Director and CEO Anand Sudarshan said.

The combined entity now has over 450 employees and MeritTrac's Co-founder and Director Madan Padaki will continue to retain his position.