upGrad makes first overseas deal, snaps up Australian Global Study Partners

Leading edtech player upGrad on Monday said it will acquire Global Study Partners (GSP), the largest study abroad company in Australia, for AUD 16 million, with a commitment of a further AUD 10 million in future.

UpGrad, which has been growing through acquisitions and has earmarked an M&A war chest of USD 250 million, has entered into an acquisition agreement to buy 100 per cent of GSP for AUD 16 million with a commitment of a further AUD 10 million in future, the Ronnie Screwvala-promoted firm said in a statement on Monday.

GSP is slated to close its current financials at a gross merchandise value of over AUD 10 million.

Founded in 2015, the Sydney-headquartered GSP has a network of over 600 institutions in Australia, Britain, Canada, and the US, and over 1,300 recruitment partners that include education and migration agents, schools, test preparation centres, alumni associations etc.

The acquisition marks the first international acquisition for upGrad and strengthens its foray into the study abroad space, one of the fastest-growing segments worldwide.

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"As an integrated edtech leader, we span the entire gamut of a learner's need from the age of 18-50, and in that, study abroad is a key growth initiative for us -- not just out of India, which is one of the two largest markets but also for our learners internationally," chairman and co-founder Screwvala said.

GSP founder and chief executive Elaine Starkey said with this deal with upGrad, her existing partner institutions and recruiters worldwide can expect significant growth in quality student enrolments.

With these two education leaders in the key supplier and the demand markets coming together, upGrad is looking to build a revenue of USD 100 million in study abroad business over the next three years, said Gaurav Kumar, president for corporate development and M&As at upGrad.

According to a Redseer report, Indian students opting for higher education abroad are increasing rapidly and their growth outpaced the domestic student growth by 6x in the last three years to reach 7.7 lakh in 2019. This is further expected to grow 2x till 2024, to reach 1.8 million who would be spending USD 75-85 billion overseas.

With 1.5 lakh students coming in every year, Australia is one of the biggest destination markets for Indian students.

Started in 2015, upGrad is a pioneer in the online education revolution, focused on reskilling and upskilling and has so far helped over 2 million from across 50 countries.