Industries · Education
Education deals rarely look like a share sale, because schools rarely sit in companies.
Schools, colleges, coaching institutes, skill training firms and education technology companies all change hands, but in different ways. Many schools and colleges are run by trusts or societies that cannot simply be bought, so deals use management agreements, asset arrangements or changes in trustees. Coaching and edtech companies are usually companies and are bought or funded like any other.
Deal patterns
How deals usually look in education.
The four shapes a transaction most often takes in this sector, and what each one turns on.
- A school group takes on a schoolOften through a management or brand agreement with the trust that runs it.
- Investment in coaching or test prepA fund invests in a coaching brand to open new centres, with close attention to student numbers and fee refunds.
- Edtech funding or saleA software company serving schools or learners raises money or sells, and is assessed like any SaaS business.
- Skilling and training firmsFirms that run government or corporate training programmes, valued on contracts and receivables.
Diligence focus
Where the questions will come from.
Expect a buyer or investor to spend most of their diligence time on these areas. Preparing them first shortens the process.
Who really owns the institution
The trust deed or society rules, who the trustees are, and what any change needs: the deed, the registrar and sometimes the affiliating body.
Affiliation and approvals
Recognition, affiliation and course approvals: current, in the right name, and what happens to them on a change of management.
Land and buildings
Who owns the campus, whether it is leased from a promoter, and any conditions attached to land given on concessional terms.
Fees, refunds and deferred revenue
Fees collected in advance, refund policies and any state rules on fee levels.
Teachers and staff
Contracts, qualifications required by the board or regulator, PF and gratuity.
Student data
Records of minors carry extra duties under the DPDP Act, so they are kept out of diligence files.
Each area gets its own folder, with access by role
Approvals and regulators
Who else may need to say yes.
Which approvals apply depends on the business, the structure and the state. Confirm them with your CA and lawyer before you set a timeline.
| Approval or regulator |
|---|
| The school board or university the institution is affiliated to |
| State education departments, for recognition and, in some states, fee rules |
| National regulators for technical and higher education approvals |
| The registrar of trusts or societies, for changes in trustees or rules |
| The DPDP Act, 2023, which sets extra duties for children's personal data |
An example
One deal, from approach to the first hundred days.
Case file · Education
- Sector
- Education
- Run on
- Due diligence, Integration, Engagements
Illustrative example with sample details.
A school group in Gujarat takes on a school in Vadodara
A school group running six schools wants to add a seventh. The Vadodara school it likes is run by a family trust whose founder is in his seventies. The two sides agree a management and brand arrangement, with the trust staying in place and the group running academics and operations. On Synerger, diligence covers the trust deed, affiliation letters, land records and fee history, while student records stay with the school. The group's integration plan covers the first term: teacher contracts, the fee collection system and a letter to parents.
The target moves across the pipeline under a code name
Questions
About education deals
Can a company buy a school in India?
Usually not in the way it buys a company, because most schools are run by not for profit trusts, societies or similar bodies. Deals are structured around that, and the route depends on your state and board.
Do changes in management need approval?
Often they need notice to, or approval from, the affiliating board or university and sometimes the state. Map these at the start, as they set the timeline.
Is an edtech company treated differently?
Yes. An edtech business is usually a company and is bought or funded like other software companies, though children's data brings extra duties.
Further reading
Platform parts and guides for this sector.
- Due diligencePlatformRequest lists, a data room and questions in one place, with a record of who did what.
- Employee transfer in a dealGuideEmployees are often the most valuable part of a business and the most nervous part of a deal. How employment moves depends on whether the deal is a share sale or an asset sale, and the buyer will check payroll and labour compliance in either case.
- Diligence documents and the DPDP ActArticleDue diligence moves a lot of personal data from the seller to buyers and their advisers. Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, that needs a plan: what to share, in what form, with whom, and what happens to it afterwards.
Next step
Tell us about your education deal. We will show you how we would run it.
A thirty minute confidential call with an adviser. You leave with the steps, the documents you will need and where the risks usually sit.