James Murdoch-backed Allen Career Institute is said to consider IPO

Allen Career Institute, an Indian education services company backed by James Murdoch and ex-Disney executive Uday Shankar, is considering an initial public offering in Mumbai, people familiar with the matter said.The company, founded in 1988 in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, has been in discussions with investment banks about a possible listing and is expected to formally appoint advisers soon, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

Bodhi Tree Systems, an investment platform founded in 2021 by Murdoch and Shankar, bought a 36% stake in Allen Career Institute in 2022 for $600 million.
Deliberations are ongoing and the company might decide not to proceed with an IPO, the people said. Representatives for Allen Career Institute and Bodhi Tree Systems didn’t respond to requests for comment.Government-backed Invest India forecasts the country’s education technology industry will grow to $29 billion by 2030. Allen Career Institute, which specializes in preparing students for competitive tests, has a presence in 78 Indian cities and more than 400 test centers, according to its website.

About $3.1 billion has been raised in Indian IPOs so far this year as activity slows from a record-breaking 2025, which yielded about $22 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show.