Aptech plans to invest Rs 25 crore in educational inititatives

Sajeev Nair
16 October 2003

Mumbai: In an attempt to shift focus and become a whole-time educational provider, Aptech is planning to invest around Rs 25 crore in the next five years under its educational initiatives, which includes setting up a university in Raipur and colleges in Chennai.

The IT training major is also planning to acquire certain companies that have a strong presence in content management and operations.

"The investment of Rs 25 crore will be for setting up a university, while another Rs 3 crore has been earmarked for setting up affiliated colleges," says Aptech CEO and managing director Pramod Khera.

The colleges will have curriculum other than IT, which includes MBA and other marketing courses, apart from mass communication and media, which will be later rolled out into other metros.

Aptech is planning to offer bachelor of science degrees in IT, for which it has entered into tie-ups with Sikkim-Manipal University and Southern Cross University, Australia. The company will pump in a part of its Global depository receipts (GDR) issue, which is estimated at $30 million, for its educational initiatives.

On the acquisition plans, Khera says Aptech is looking at major content management firms in the country. "We are in talks with a couple of firms and we expect the deals to fall through soon."