CIEL Group Acquires Courseplay, Eyes IPO, Expands Talent Solutions Portfolio
- ByStartupStory | March 5, 2024
CIEL Group, a leading HR solutions provider, has completed the acquisition of Mumbai-based upskilling startup Courseplay for an enterprise value of $2 million. “We’re consciously proactively defining ourselves as a confederation of entrepreneurs where founders can spread their wings and fulfil their dreams,” stated K Pandiarajan, Executive Chairman and Director of CIEL Group.
The acquisition involves a combination of cash and share swap, including the partial acquisition of Courseplay Founder Arjun Gupta’s stake and complete acquisition of the stake held by the employee growth enablement platform’s largest external investor, Inflection Point Ventures.
Additionally, shares will be allocated for an ESOP pool. Gupta will retain his position as the CEO of Courseplay post-acquisition. Following the integration with CIEL HR, 30 Courseplay employees will join CIEL HR’s Mumbai office.
Courseplay specializes in enabling companies to capture data related to employee performance, behavior, competencies, development goals, and learning activities, facilitating automated recommendations for growth.
The upskilling startup had previously secured Rs 3 crore in seed funding from Inflection Point Ventures in January 2022. In pursuit of its IPO in FY25, CIEL Group had previously raised approximately Rs 43 crore from high-net-worth individuals and now aims to secure a pre-IPO institutional investment round from HDFC Bank and Ant Capital for both organic and inorganic growth initiatives.
The company’s recent acquisitions include talent assessment firm Jombay in December 2022 and Chennai-based IT staffing company Aargee Staffing Services in December 2023. CIEL Group anticipates that its acquisitions will contribute 70% of its EBITDA and drive its revenue to Rs 1,100 crore in the current financial year.
As part of the restructuring, Pandiarajan, along with CIEL Group co-founders Latha Rajan and Rajiv Krishnan, will transfer their remaining stake in Ma Foi Strategy and Ma Foi Education (now CIEL Skills) to the CIEL HR Group.
Established in 2015 and headquartered in Bengaluru, CIEL HR offers a wide range of talent solutions, including executive search, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), mid-level hiring, temp staffing, specialized staffing, and reskilling services.
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