Bertelsmann invests further in Brazil education

Bertelsmann is investing in one of the largest groups of medical higher education institutions in Brazil, the NRE Education Group.

The investment in the education group, which runs three education institutions focusing on health courses in Brazil with 7,500 students, has been made in partnership with Bozano Investimentos. 

It is the second investment made through Bertelsmann and Bozano Investimentos' joint fund, "Bozano Educacional 2", which was set up to invest in higher education and in education technologies (EdTech). The first investment was made in Brazilian company Medcel, a provider of preparatory courses for medical students, in February. While Bertelsmann has not disclosed how much it has invested in NRE Education Group, the fund's total capital is around 800m Brazilian reais (approximately £187m/ €230m).

Shobhna Mohn, executive vice president growth regions at Bertelsmann, said: “Education is a growth area for Bertelsmann and Brazil a market where we intend to further strengthen our presence. The investments  in Medcel and the NRE Education Group with our valued partners at Bozano Investimentos are therefore an excellent fit with our corporate strategy and provide Bertelsmann a good basis to expand in the field of medical education in Brazil.”

Medcel and NRE Education Group will collaborate more closely as part of the newly formed “BR Health” network, to be further expanded with future investments by Bozano Educacional 2, according to Bertelsmann.

Marc Puskaric, managing director for Bertelsmann Brazil, said: "We are glad that by entering, together with Bozano Investimentos, into the partnerships with the founders of NRE and Medcel we have started to fulfil our vision of building a powerful network of strong higher education institutions. In the medium term, our goal is to be one of Brazil’s largest providers of education in the medical sector and to prepare more students for a career with high-quality education offerings.”

Bertelsmann aready has a presence in Brazil through its various divisions: Penguin Random House owns a stake in the Brazilian publisher Companhia das Letras; Gruner + Jahr publishes automotive magazines through its Motor Press Brazil subsidiary; Fremantle Media, a part of RTL Group, has a growing presence; Arvato invested in the Brazilian financial services provider Intervalor; and BMG launched operations in Brazil this year with the acquisition of Basement Brazil, described as one of the country´s "most respected" music publishers.

In the first six months of this year, Bertelsmann’s EBITDA from continuing operations rose to €1.11bn (£0.94bn) in the first six months of the year from €1.06bn (£0.9bn) in the same period last year. Group profit rose by 21.1% to €482m (£408.61m) due in part to the improved operating result and revenues in the first six months of the current year amounted to €8.0bn (£6.78bn).