MUMBAI, June 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The biggest merger in Indian corporate history has opened the door for private equity giant EQT (EQTAB.ST) to enter the country’s education finance market. The deal is touted as the largest ever PE buyout in the country’s financial sector and values Credila at roughly 101 billion rupees ($1.2 billion), or roughly 37 times earnings in the last financial year. The target specalises in education financing for those looking to universities in the United States, the UK and Canada for higher education. The buyers will also inject 20 billion rupees into Credila, which should help give the company, already a market major, an edge over rivals including state-controlled banks and the Warburg Pincus-backed Avanse Financial Services. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

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Persons: HDFC, Credila, BPEA EQT, Warburg Pincus, Shritama Bose, Robyn Mak, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Chrys Capital, Bajaj Finance, Financial, Twitter, Virgin, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Swedish, United States, Canada, India, Credila, Cava