PE major Warbug Pincus checks into Good Host Spaces; buys HDFC's 24.48 pc stake

Global private equity major Warburg Pincus on Thursday said it has become a ''significant shareholder'' in student accommodation provider Good Host Spaces by undisclosed sum.

Baskin Lake Investment, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, has picked up mortgage major HDFC's 24.48 per cent stake in the company, and has also topped it with a primary investment, an official statement said.

Existing shareholder Goldman Sachs and Baskin Lake will support the future growth of Good Host by investing additional capital to fund the company's growth objectives, the statement said.

Established in 2017, Good Host is the first on-campus student housing platform, and has become largest owner and operator of student accommodation assets, operating about 18,000 beds at highly ranked universities, such as Manipal University, O P Jindal Global University and Shoolini University, it said.

The statement said the company plans to expand capacity to 50,000 beds in the near term and is in discussions with universities for the same.

The new National Education Policy (NEP) will improve the global competitiveness of Indian universities, which in turn will require high-quality, professionally-managed student housing facilities. This natural evolution will result in a significant growth of this asset class as seen in other developed countries, the statement said.

''Good Host has had a remarkable journey since inception, from introducing the business model of operating student accommodation in partnership with universities in India, to scaling this platform to become the country's largest student accommodation provider,'' the PE fund's Managing Director (India) Anish Saraf said.

Saraf added that its investment will deliver critical growth capital to universities helping them augment their educational capabilities while modernising and introducing global best practices to the student housing assets.

''Our founding investment was built upon the clear, immense gap between the demand and supply for good, quality on-campus student accommodation, which we have experience in funding and developing globally,'' Goldman Sachs Asset Management MD said Som Krishna.

Krishna added that Warburg Pincus' addition validates the ''long-term thematic basis'' of Goldman's vision and Good Hosts' value proposition of serving students.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)