Bharti

Everonn Education and Centum Learning Announce Merger

• ● Merger to create a robust portfolio spanning education, corporate training and skill development
• ● Everonn to acquire all issued and paid up share capital of Centum
• ● Bharti Family Office to receive a combination of cash and equity shares in Everonn

New Delhi, August 22, 2012: Everonn Education Limited ("Everonn"), a part of Varkey Group / GEMS Education – Dubai, and pioneer in facilitating education using breakthrough technologies in the Indian education sector, and Centum Learning Limited("Centum"), a company providing end-to-end training programmes and skill development solutions, today announced that Everonn will, subject to the receipt of the necessary regulatory approvals, acquire all of the issued and paid up share capital of Centum. In return, the Bharti Family Office will receive a combination of cash and equity shares in Everonn. The Bharti Family Office manages investments made by the promoters of the Bharti group in their personal capacity.

Everonn is today the largest VSAT education network in the world and has its presence across the educational eco-system. Its technology enabled education content covers students from pre-school to B-schools. Everonn is also into the vocational training space. Centum has a presence in 20 countries across Africa and South Asia and comes with rich experience in the training and skill development domain across 21 industry verticals. The coming together of two leading players will create an organisation with a robust portfolio spanning education, corporate training and skill development. In addition, Everonn will get an entry into the key emerging economies across South Asia and Africa.

Commenting on the merger, Mr. Rakesh Sharma, Director - Everonn Education Limited and CEO of GEMS Education India and Special Advisor to the Chairman of GEMS Education said, "With this acquisition, Everonn will expand its reach in the Indian training space by adding Corporate Training, the flagship product of Centum, as a new vertical, while other business segments of Centum (skill development, employment generation, professional education & training) will seamlessly integrate with the existing verticals of Everonn. Another significant opportunity for Everonn is the gateway to the African Continent with Centum's presence in over 17 countries in Africa. Everonn will be in a position to take its Education products and services to these countries and will be the first significant step in Everonn becoming a major global player in its space."

Mr Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Centum said, "In Centum, we have built a world-class enterprise in the training and skill development domain with a global footprint. This transaction is in line with our stated objective of focusing our energies on our core businesses through which we are making a deeper impact both in India and abroad. We believe Everonn is well positioned to take Centum to the next level and we will continue to support them towards the same."

Centum is working with over 350 global corporations for their training requirements. Centum has set up more than 170 Centum Learning Centres in 150 cities across India to bridge the talent gap and launched Centum U which offers workforce degrees in association with globally acclaimed universities and institutes.

About Everonn:

Everonn has been a leading presence in the Indian education industry for over two decades and as India's first education and training company to offer satellite-enabled learning, Everonn is a pioneer in facilitating education using breakthrough technologies nullifying geographical and cultural borders.

Everonn's unrivalled reach in providing a blend of traditional and digitized content to the schools, colleges and retail segments has helped in offering quality education to students even in the most remote parts of India. Everonn's firm foothold in the web-based solutions as well as the competitive exam guidance arenas has helped millions change their lives. Everonn today reaches out to millions of students through thousands of learning centres across 27 states, works with several State Governments of India and is the largest VSAT education network in the World.

Everonn contributes towards the National Skill-Building movement through Everonn Skill Development Limited (ESDL). ESDL will train and place students across high-growth sectors.

Earlier this year, Varkey Group / GEMS Education - Dubai, the world's largest K-12 education company with over 50 years of experience in education joined Everonn as a strategic investor and acquired management control. NRI entrepreneur Padmashree Sunny Varkey, who is also the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Education Partnerships, is the Founder and Chairman of the group.

About Centum:

Centum Learning, with more than 1000 learning & development specialists, provides end-to-end training and skill-building solutions to over 350 global firms, Central and State Ministries, PSUs across 20 countries. Its training solutions aim at enhancing productivity and business outcomes. Centum Learning has set up more than 278 learning centres in rural and urban locations to provide employability skills to youth in tandem with industry requirements to enable sustainable transformation. Centum Learning's accomplishments in training & skill building have been recognized in several leading national and global platforms.

Disclaimer:

All statements included or incorporated by reference in this media release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by us. Although Everonn Education Limited believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement was made, and Everonn Education Limited undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. No assurance can be given that actual results, performance or achievement expressed in, or implied by, forward looking statements within this disclosure will occur, or if they do, that any benefits may be derived from them.