Byju’s sells US edtech units Epic, Tynker at deep discount

Industry:    3 days ago
  • Troubled ed-tech firm Byju’s has reportedly been forced to part with two of its U.S.-based subsidiaries by its term loan B (TLB) lenders as part of an asset unwinding process, according to reports by EdWeek Market Brief.
  • Chinese education giant TAL Education has acquired the popular reading platform Epic! in a $95 million deal, a steep drop from the $500 million Byju’s paid to acquire it in July 2021. This represents an 81% reduction in value.
  • Meanwhile, coding platform Tynker, which Byju’s acquired for $200 million in September 2021, was sold to computer science education company CodeHS for just $2.2 million, reflecting a 98.9% drop in value.
  • Between 2017 and 2021, BYJU’S went on an aggressive acquisition spree, snapping up 17 companies in just five years, averaging a record three and a half acquisitions per year. The company invested around $3 billion in these deals, with approximately $820 million spent on U.S.-based acquisitions alone.
  • The largest was the $950 million acquisition of test prep giant Aakash Educational Services in 2021. Aakash Educational Services continues to operate as a standalone brand, in which Manipal Group’s Ranjan Pai has emerged as the largest shareholder over the last few years.
  • Great Learning, acquired for $600 million to expand into higher education and upskilling, continues to operate independently under BYJU’S umbrella. The lenders have also been in discussions to sell Great Learning. WhiteHat Jr, acquired for $300 million, remains operational but has faced internal restructuring and valuation write-offs amid a significant revenue fall.
  • Other major buys included the $150 million acquisition of Toppr and GeoGebra, bought for $100 million to bolster its math learning portfolio. The company also snapped up Osmo for $120 million in 2019, which continues to operate as a separate brand. Several smaller acquisitions, such as Scholr, HashLearn, Vidyartha, LabInApp, and Math Adventures, have been folded into BYJU’S core offerings. Gradeup was rebranded as BYJU’S Exam Prep, while TutorVista and Edurite were among the company’s earliest moves, integrated into its tutoring infrastructure.
  • Byju’s, once valued at $22 billion, is currently embroiled in multifaceted legal challenges spanning India and the U.S. In India, the company faces insolvency proceedings initiated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) over unpaid sponsorship dues of Rs 158 crore. In the United States, Byju’s faces legal action from creditors who allege the fraudulent transfer and concealment of $533 million from a 2021 $1.2 billion term loan. A Delaware bankruptcy court has ruled that Byju’s orchestrated an unlawful scheme involving the wrongful transfer of funds through entities like Alpha and Camshaft Capital.
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