Blackstone invests $500 m in test prep firm Aakash.

Investment firm Blackstone recently announced that it has collaborated with engineering and medical entrance test preparation firm Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) for further development of the digitally enabled, omnichannel education company.

Blackstone would invest around $500 million in AESL as part of this collaboration, according to sources.

"Given Blackstone’s unique partnership philosophy, we engaged exclusively with the Blackstone team for this transaction. This investment is a testament to the dedication of our outstanding employees who have built this company by keeping with our founder’s motto of ‘Student First'," said Aakash Chaudhry, Director and CEO of AESL.

Currently, AESL has 200 centres across 130 cities, teaching more than 250,000 students, along with a fast-growing digital business. In 2019, nine of the top 10 NEET rank-holders were AESL students, says the statement.

HBL