U.K.-based publishing and education company Pearson has agreed to acquire 100 percent of Brazil-based English-language training company Grupo Multi from the Brazilian Martins family, which holds a 78 percent stake, and alternative investment management firm Kinea Investimentos. The total transaction value will be around GBP440 million (approximately US$721 million). Kinea originally invested in Grupo Multi, which reportedly serves over 800,000 students across more than 2,600 franchised schools, in 2010. The transaction is subject to regulatory review and is expected to close in the first half of 2014.