Vibgyor Group of Schools plans first-ever external fundraise, appoints banker for minority stake sale

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Vibgyor Group of Schools, a prominent school chain based in Mumbai, is looking to raise external capital for the first time through a minority stake sale, becoming the latest K-12 school chain to tap renewed private equity interest in India's school sector, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The school chain is looking to sell a minority stake of upto 30%, according to two people aware of the development. Vibgyor has appointed Avendus Capital as the banker for the transaction, the people told Mint.

"The company is looking to use the funds for expansion and has begun a managed process for this fundraise with Avendus," one of the people cited above said.

The second person said the company is seeking a valuation of 10-20 times its topline for the fundraise.

"The school chain ended FY26 with a topline of around ₹1,800 crore and is actively looking for external funding. The control is 100% with the promoters, and they want to offload some stake but maintain control," the person added.

The discussions are still at an early stage, and the final contours of the deal will depend on investor interest.

The proposed fundraise assumes significance amid rising interest of private equity investors in India's K-12 education sector.

In December, Mint first reported that Kedaara Capital-backed K12 Techno Services was in talks to raise fresh capital from private equity investors, with European buyout firm Vitruvian Partners emerging as the frontrunner. That transaction concluded this week with Vitruvian investing ₹1,159 crore in the company.

The India school market was valued at $54.2 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $135.6 billion by 2033, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2% during 2025-2033, according to market research firm IMARC Group.

Both Vibgyor Group of Schools and Avendus Capital declined to comment on the story.

Founded in 2004 by Rustom Kerawalla and Kavita Sahay Kerawalla, Vibgyor Group of Schools operates more than 40 schools across 15 major cities, offering education from playschool to Grade 12.

The chain follows multiple curricula, including the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), University of Cambridge International Education (CIE), and national and international curricula.

In February, the chain appointed former Ampersand Group executive Vaibhav Narang as chief executive officer.

Industry executives said private equity firms are increasingly favouring school chains with expansion potential, as building a large K-12 platform organically can take years.

"The issue now has become: how do you build a platform? Scale takes a very long time to build in K-12. If somebody wants a portfolio of even $100 million revenue, it's not easy to find that or build that quickly," Nitin Bhatia, managing director at DC Advisory, said, adding that investors are actively looking for quality assets that can be scaled.

Vibgyor's planned fundraise comes as the sector is witnessing a fresh round of dealmaking. In November last year, Blackstone backed Jaipur-based Jayshree Periwal School. KKR subsequently increased its investment in Lighthouse Learning, the education platform it first backed in 2019.

Mansi Verma is a senior correspondent covering private capital in India for Mint. Think of strategy shifts, private equity and venture capital deals, the companies trying to go public, and occasionally, the ones falling apart.<br><br>She moved into this beat in 2022, and has been following it closely since. Prior to Mint, Mansi worked at Moneycontrol, where she covered jobs and edtech, reporting extensively on the 2022–2024 startup and IT layoffs cycle. Her work during this period focused on what happens to fast-growing companies when capital dries up, combining financial reporting with human-interest stories.<br><br>Mansi reported closely o...