Imarticus Learning has acquired Singapore's BELLS Institute of Higher Learning for ₹800 Cr, marking its first international deal as the Bengaluru-based edtech prepares for a ₹1,000 Cr IPO. The acquisition adds 150,000 alumni and seven training centres to Imarticus's footprint, giving the company a direct line into Southeast Asian markets and Singapore government training programmes.
The combined entity will operate across more than 25 offices with over 1,100 employees. Imarticus claims to have reached 1 million learners; BELLS brings established ties to SkillsFuture Singapore and enterprise clients across the ASEAN region.
Why Singapore, why now?
Singapore functions as a hub for corporate training budgets across Southeast Asia. BELLS holds accreditation under the Continuing Professional Development framework and partners directly with SkillsFuture Singapore, the government agency that subsidises workforce upskilling. That access is hard to build from scratch.
For an edtech eyeing public markets, the deal does two things at once: it diversifies revenue beyond India and adds a credible AI training brand at a moment when enterprise demand for AI skills is spiking. Imarticus plans to launch BELLS School of AI, offering courses in machine learning, AI for finance and fintech, and AI-driven business transformation. The target audience: working professionals, recent graduates, and enterprise teams.
What does Imarticus get?
- Seven training centres in Singapore under the BELLS brand
- A 150,000-strong alumni network with enterprise hiring connections
- Partnerships with SkillsFuture Singapore and regional enterprises
- A regional hub to expand into Malaysia, Indonesia, and the broader ASEAN market
This is Imarticus's second acquisition in under a year. In May 2025, it bought edtech platform MyCaptain for ₹50 Cr. The BELLS deal is 16 times larger and signals a shift from domestic consolidation to international scale.
The IPO context
Imarticus has not disclosed a timeline, but a ₹1,000 Cr IPO would place it among the larger edtech listings in India. PhysicsWallah went public last year; Klassroom's BSE SME debut is set for August 7. The edtech-to-IPO pipeline is filling up after a difficult fundraising stretch in 2023-24, and acquirers are using M&A to bulk up financials before filing.
Tracks another edtech IPO hitting the market this month
Founded in 2012 by Nikhil Barshikar and Sonya Hooja, Imarticus offers professional education, executive programmes, and corporate training across finance, technology, and business. Its core pitch has always been job-linked outcomes, with partnerships across banks, consulting firms, and tech employers. Adding BELLS extends that employer network into Southeast Asia.
Logicity's Take
The ₹800 Cr price tag signals Imarticus is buying revenue and government access, not just brand. BELLS's SkillsFuture partnerships mean a portion of course fees are subsidised by Singapore's government, de-risking corporate training sales. For finance-focused readers: Imarticus is positioning AI-for-fintech training as its growth wedge, betting that banks and asset managers will pay premium rates for workforce upskilling. Watch whether the IPO prospectus discloses BELLS's standalone revenue; that will tell us if this deal was priced for growth or for optics.
What happens next
Imarticus has not confirmed when it will file its draft prospectus. If the ₹1,000 Cr target holds, the company will need to show regulators that its financials can absorb an ₹800 Cr acquisition and still justify the valuation. Integration risk is real: blending an Indian edtech culture with a Singaporean training institute is not trivial, especially when the deal includes government partnerships that depend on local compliance.
The bigger question is whether AI training can carry premium pricing once the market saturates. Imarticus is betting it can. The IPO will test that bet.
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Source: Inc42 Media / Shrishti Bisht
Huma Shazia
Senior AI & Tech Writer
Produced with AI assistance and reviewed by the Logicity editorial team. Learn more in our Editorial Policy.
