New Delhi, Nov. 13 -- Lighthouse Learning Group, the Indian preschool and K-12 education company earlier known as EuroKids International and still controlled by US-based private equity firm KKR, has struck its third deal this year with the acquisition of a stake in Hyderabad-based Meru International School, people close to the development informed VCCircle. The education company said that it has struck a strategic partnership with the school, without clarifying if it was an equity deal.

Meru International, founded in 2018 by Meghana Gorukanti Jupally, offers CBSE and Cambridge curricula from the Early Years to Grade 12 across two campuses in Miyapur and Tellapur, Hyderabad.

Through this strategic partnership, Meru International School will leverage Lighthouse Learning's central education team to support curriculum design, faculty development and safety protocols among others, according to a company press release.

"Through this partnership, we look forward to building on Meru's strengths by bringing together our academic expertise, leadership development capabilities, robust safety systems and technology-enabled learning solutions," Prajodh Rajan, founder and group CEO at Lighthouse Learning Group, was quoted as saying.

Meghana Gorukanti Jupally, Founder Director, Meru International School, said the collaboration with Lighthouse Learning would bring deep educational expertise, a strong national network and offer opportunities to students and educators.

According to a recent report by VCCircle's sister publication, Mint, the Hyderabad-based school chain had a revenue of Rs 100 crore ($10.6 million) and a profit of Rs 50 crore. The school was valued at Rs 450-500 crore, the report said.

LoEstro Advisors acted as the exclusive strategic advisor to the deal. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas served as the legal advisor to Lighthouse Learning Group.

Other acquisitions

The acquisition comes on the back of Lighthouse Learning's acquisition of Gurgaon-based International Baccalaureate (IB) school Pathways School Gurgaon. In March, the firm had acquired Early Learning Village (ELV), another Gurugram-based early education firm.

The company serves more than 225,000 students daily through over 1,850 preschools and 60 schools.

KKR acquired a majority stake in Eurokids International Group in 2019. Since then, it has expanded the network through several acquisitions. In 2021, it acquired Nagpur based Centre Point, a chain of K-12 schools. In 2023, the company acquired Gurugram-based premium school chain Heritage Xperiential Schools. The following year, it acquired Phoenix Greens School of Learning in Hyderabad.

Lighthouse Learning's other portfolio schools include brands such as EuroKids, Kangaroo Kids, Mother's Pet Kindergarten, Early Learning Village, EuroSchool, Billabong High International School, Centre Point Group of Schools, and Finland International School Maldives.

Valuation, financials

KKR & Co Inc., one of the most active private equity firms operating in India, recently invested approximately $145 million (Rs 1,388 crore) into Lighthouse Learning Pvt Ltd, VCCircle has reported. The fresh infusion is said to help Lighthouse acquire more schools as it expands its network.

This latest funding round pegs Lighthouse's post-money valuation around Rs 12,400 crore ($1.3 billion), according to VCCircle estimates.

In FY26, Lighthouse Learning's consolidated revenue from operations increased 24% in FY26 to Rs 996.6 crore, according to its financial statements. Since FY23, revenues have jumped by 47%. However, the spate of acquisitions seems to have weighed on its bottom line, as the pre-tax consolidated loss widened to Rs 70.5 crore from Rs 16.8 crore the year before.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.