Byju’s wants funding at a value of less than $2 billion and a discount of more than 90%
Once regarded as one of the most valuable companies in the world, Byju’s is trying to generate money to help with its financial difficulties by selling off more than 90% of its previous round of funding.
According to persons familiar with the situation, the troubled Indian education provider is requesting more than $100 million from current investors via a new share offering scheduled for next month, at a price that puts the company’s valuation below $2 billion. That is less than the $22 billion it received in its late 2022 funding round.
According to insiders who asked not to be identified since the information is confidential, the company’s founder, Byju Raveendran, would take part in the share sale in order to maintain his ownership position. The firm, which has been struggling financially for a number of months, said that it would pay its suppliers and stabilize its operations using the money raised from the share sale that is scheduled for next month.
In an effort to relieve the company’s financial strain and keep it afloat, Raveendran has been going all out. The company is in the midst of a legal dispute with creditors over the nonpayment of interest on a $1.2 billion term loan, and it is also in the process of selling its kids’ digital reading platform, which is located in the US, for around $400 million.
An official from the corporation refused to provide a statement.
Following the share sale, the firm is concentrating on reestablishing its core business and will intensify its recent efforts to join the next great educational trend: generative artificial intelligence for so-called hyper-personalized learning, the persons said.
Before it encountered a global digital investment slowdown, Byju’s, then known as Think & Learn Pvt, had raised billions of dollars to support a global acquisition binge, backed by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, General Atlantic, and Prosus NV. According to the persons, a number of the company’s shareholders are anticipated to take part in the share sale.
