Edu Online Emeritus, a Mumbai based online education platform has secured $350 million in debt financing. The company offers quality education accessible and affordable to individuals, companies, and governments around the world. The fresh round of funding was raised from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) through its subsidiary CPPIB Credit Investments Inc.
Emeritus plans to use this fund to accelerate mergers and acquisition plans as part of a world wide growth strategy, the company announced through a statement.
“Emeritus will expand our mission of making education accessible around the world by deepening our investment in the education space to reach different segments and audiences. Our acquisition pipeline will enable us to accelerate growth, impact more learners, and improve our profitability.” Ashwin Damera, Co-founder and CEO, Emeritus and Eruditus, said.
As the company witnesses growth 2.5x organically, Emeritus will also fuel its growth through inorganic initiatives. The pipeline of potential acquisitions is expected to contribute up to 30 percent of Emeritus’ top line and EBITDA in the next five years.
Raymond Chan, Managing Director, Head of APAC Credit, CPP Investments, said, “The investment is aligned with our strategy of pursuing high quality credit investments across Asia Pacific and delivering attractive risk-adjusted returns for our contributors and beneficiaries.”
Edu Online Emeritus Grows 120 percent YoY, Anticipates Booking of $500 million FY 21-22
Last year, Emeritus acquired Silicon Valley-based iD Tech, a company in youth STEM education, which marked Emeritus’ expansion into the K12 space. In FY21, it also claimed to reach learners in more than 80 countries and offer programs through partnerships with more than 50 of the world’s top universities.
After the completion of this debt financing, Emeritus claims that it will have raised more than $1 billion in debt and equity.In August 2021, CPP Investments also participated in Emeritus’ $650 million Series E funding round, which advanced Emeritus’ valuation to $3.2 billion, quadrupling its Series D valuation from August 2020.
Investors in Emeritus also include Accel, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, GSV, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Leeds Illuminate, Prosus, Sequoia Capital India, Bertelsmann, and Chimera.
Founded in 2015, Emeritus, part of Eruditus Group, has more than 2,200 employees globally and offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Shanghai, Singapore, Palo Alto, Mexico City, New York, Boston, London, and Dubai
