(This story originally appeared in on Feb 22, 2019)

HYDERABAD: One of Hyderabad 's best known private schools - Oakridge International - has been bought over by the Hong Kong-based company, Nord Anglia Education Although the school management refused to give details of the deal, top sources in the education sector said the chain of schools has been taken over for an estimated Rs 1,500-1,600 crore. The transaction, one of the biggest in the sector in Hyderabad, concluded only weeks ago.Apart from two campuses in Hyderabad - at Gachibowli and Bachupally - Oakridge International also has a branch each in Visakhapatnam , Bengaluru and Mohali. It is managed by People Combine, an education management and consulting company set up about two decades ago by two Indian School of Business (ISB) alumnus Naga Prasad Tummala and Y V Rajasekhar.“While the deal was signed a few weeks ago, the proprietors sent out a communication to the Hyderabad CEOs’ Forum on February 5,” said a city industrialist, who is part of this exclusive group. “It states that the existing proprietors have exited and the school is now part of the Nord Anglia Education family, a global organisation with more than 60 premier K-12 schools in more than 30 countries.”On its website, the Hong Kong group describes itself as offering “personalised, inspiring learning to more than 61,000 students between 2 and 18 years”. While it has an expansive footprint across Asia, Europe, the US and the Middle East, Nord Anglia Education does not have a venture in India.When contacted, Rajasekhar refrained from commenting on the financial details of the deal but admitted to a shift in management. He said: “We cannot say it’s been sold… but there is some change in the People Combine management. We will let you know details later.”