India-based Liqvid e-Learning Services has started discussions with various venture capital funds in a bid to undertake a second round of equity funding, The Economic Times reported. The initiative comes at a time when investors have revealed fresh interest in the country's education services sector, the report said.
Liqvid is an educational software maker whose flagship product is EnglishEdge, an English language learning software. According to sources interviewed by The Economic Times, Liqvid has conducted early stage talks with venture capital firms like Matrix Partners India and Nexus Venture Partners, among others, to gather funding amounting to $10 million or Rs61.5 crore.
If the deal pushes through, it could put the value of the firm at $50 million or Rs307.4 crore. Proceeds expect to use the financing to grow the business to global markets like Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Part of the funds will also be used to construct its mobile business, the report said.
Headquartered in Noida, the firm was able to gather $3 million or Rs18.4 crore from an SBI Holdings unit in August 2012. SBI Holdings is one of the biggest investor companies in Japan. The report said it is unclear if SBI Holdings will join the most recent funding round.
If this deal succeeds, it will mark the resurrection of venture capital into India's e-learning space. Investors were only able to make a few divestments from the sector except for the complete takeover of TutorVista by Britain-based Pearson's in 2013, the report said.
Grant Thornton India Partner Raja Lahiri told The Economic Times, "There has been a slowdown in the space, because there have been only a few large players that have emerged. Barring TutorVista, which catered to the US market, the others have found it hard to scale."
The report said venture capital participation in the broader education segment in India fell last year as investments declined to $13 million from the $77 million recorded in the previous year.
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