The IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) share price is pushing higher on Tuesday morning.
At the time of writing, the language testing and student placement provider's shares are up 4% to $28.66.
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Why is the IDP share price charging higher?
Investors have been bidding the IDP share price higher today after the company announced a new acquisition.
According to the release, the company has entered into a binding agreement to acquire 100% of Intake Education for up to ~A$83 million.
Intake is a leading student placement agency that has operations across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, India and the UK. It brings to IDP three decades of industry leadership in the UK-bound international education sector.
Management commentary
IDP's interim CEO, Murray Walton, was pleased with the agreement. He said:
The geographic footprint of Intake complements IDP's global network. Intake is the market leader for UK study in several countries and has the largest and most respected agency in West Africa which will accelerate IDP's growth ambitions in this emerging region.
Like IDP, Intake teams care deeply about getting great outcomes for their students and institution partners. We both proudly stay by our students' sides from first enquiry through to starting in the classroom.
Intake's CEO, Pieter Funnekotter, believes the acquisition of his company will make IDP stronger. He commented:
By Intake joining IDP's team, we will help grow the international education sector and create a new standard for how we support students to achieve their global goals.
The agreement is expected to be completed in November, with the transaction subject to customary completion conditions. IDP intends to fund the acquisition using a combination of existing cash and debt facilities.
