NEW DELHI: Shares of Cox Kings were locked at 5 per cent upper circuit limit on Monday after the company sold its education business to UK-based investor Midlothian Capital Partners (MCP) for Rs 4,387 crore.

The stock rose 5 per cent to hit a high of Rs 192.25 on the BSE at around 10.20 am today.

The education business comprises HB Education Limited -- formerly known as Holidaybreak Education -- a wholly owned subsidiary of Holidaybreak. Baird and Axis Capital acted as financial advisors and Eversheds Sutherland the legal counsel for the transaction. "Since CK's successful acquisition of Holidaybreak in 2011, the business with the strategic direction of CK has scaled larger heights.

Over the years, we have made efforts to maximise shareholder value by divesting some parts of the business, reduce debt and focus on high growth asset light businesses.

This is in line with our stated policy of consistently unlocking value in the company and we shall aggressively continue to follow our stated policy," said Peter Kerkar, Group CFO of Cox Kings.