Pearson buys Brazilian English schools in £500m Grupo Multi deal Grupo Multi serves 800,000 students in 2,600 franchised schools. The acquisition accelerates Pearson's move away from publishing and towards education, especially in emerging economies. It has bought Grupo Multi from the Martins family, which had a 78pc stake, and the investment firm Kinea. Pearson paid £440m cash and assumed £65m debt to take control of the network, which generated operating profits of £42m last year. It is the latest in a series of deals in the Brazilian education sector. Demand for English teaching is expected to rise in the run up to the country's hosting of the football World Cup next year and Olympic Games in 2016. John Fallon, chief executive of Pearson, said: "Over the past twenty five years, Grupo Multi has become the most respected English learning company in Brazil by offering high quality affordable English language learning that has made a real impact on the lives of its students. We intend to sustain and grow the business, helping many more young Brazilians to acquire the English language skills that will help them succeed in their careers. It is Pearson's second major education deal in Brazil. It bought the curriculum services division of Sistema Educacional Brasileiro in 2010 for £326m. Both deals are part of Mr Fallon's strategy of expansion in emerging markets and education. Pearson has been meanwhile offloading its publishing assets, most recently with the £382m sale of the financial news service Mergermarket to private equity group BC Partners last week.