Core Projects & Technologies Ltd., an Indian education software services provider to overseas universities, plans to acquire a U.S. company and use its technology to boost sales in the South Asian nation.
Core Projects, based in Mumbai, plans to buy the U.S. company for as much as $40 million, Chairman and Managing Director Sanjeev Mansotra said in an interview without identifying the target company.
Core Projects also plans to spend 10 billion rupees ($213 million) to build schools in India, he said. It is bidding for projects in India to build schools as state and federal governments increase spending on education. “This is because the biggest opportunities are in India,” Mansotra said. “Eventually, the plan is to use expertise of our global experience in expanding operations in India.”
Core Projects wants to tap business as the government of the world’s second-most populated nation eases rules to lure private investment in education to train people joining the workforce.
Only 12 children out of every 100 make it to college in India and those who do get a university education are hampered by poor teaching and crumbling infrastructure.
The government wants to raise this level to 30 percent by 2020. Core Projects shares advanced 0.7 percent to 254.4 rupees as of 12:05 p.m. in Mumbai. The stock this year has advanced 28 percent compared with a 3 percent gain for the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index.
“The preference to spend on quality education is increasing in India as the economy expands increasing scope for the private sector,” said Atul Thakkar, analyst at Anand Rathi Financial Services Ltd. in Mumbai who has a “buy” rating on Core Projects.
“There is scope of an upside of about 15 percent on the stock.” There are about 480 universities and 22,000 colleges in India and it needs 600 more universities and 35,000 extra colleges over the next 12 years to reach its enrollment goal, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal has said.
The Indian government in May moved toward easing rules for Foreign Universities by introducing a bill that will allow them to open campuses and award degrees, part of an overhaul of the South Asian nation’s higher education.
Source:http://www.c2clive.com/latestnewsdetail.php?id=2436
