Dive Brief:
- Apollo Education Group, the for-profit owner of the University of Phoenix, has entered the Brazilian market with a majority interest purchase of Sociedade Técnica Educacional da Lapa, which provides college programs in the country.
- The company offers courses under Faculdade da Educacional da Lapa, or FAEL, to 12,000 students through one campus, 113 learning centers, and online offerings.
- Apollo also recently announced the formation of Apollo Education Ventures, a venture capital fund that will make minority-stake investments in companies in post-secondary education, professional development, and human capital management.
Dive Insight:
On the online education side of the ledger, Apollo’s expansion will help it compete against Coursera and Veduca in the market. Apollo acquired a 75% interest in the Brazilian company for $28.9 million. Apollo is partnering with Touchdown Ventures, which is itself a new venture, to help source and manage the investments, EducationInvestor reported. Besides the U.S. and Europe, Apollo has a presence in Africa, Australia, Latin America, and Asia.
