Stephenson Harwood advises Physicswallah on Knowledge Planet acquisition

Law firm Stephenson Harwood LLP has advised Physicswallah Pvt Ltd (PhysicsWallah) on its acquisition of Knowledge Planet Centre Group, Dubai (Knowledge Planet).

PhysicsWallah is an Indian-headquartered online education platform, which recently became a unicorn. It was launched during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 by Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari.

Stephenson Harwood acted as UAE counsel, advising on all UAE aspects of the transaction documents, on this cross-border matter spanning across India and the UAE. The team advised on an appropriate structure for the deal and navigated various regulatory issues in both the technology and educational spheres.

Knowledge Planet is one of the UAE’s most trusted entrance exam preparation institutions for students, and caters to students of CBSE, ICSE, British, American and IB Curriculums. It has 13 centres operating across the Middle East.

"This is a significant deal for PhysicsWallah, and its first in the MENA market," said Diwakar Agarwal, partner, Stephenson Harwood. "Our extensive knowledge of the technology and education sectors, coupled with our experience handling cross-border M&A matters, meant we were well placed to advise on this strategically important commercial matter. I look forward to assisting our client on any future growth plans in the MENA region."

The team worked closely with Indian law firm Indus Law on this transaction.