Ronnie Screwvala-led upGrad has cleared the biggest regulatory hurdle in its proposed acquisition of Unacademy after receiving approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), paving the way for the education-technology deal to move towards completion.
In a communication dated July 7, the CCI said it had approved the proposed combination between upGrad Education Pvt. Ltd. and Sorting Hat Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Unacademy’s legal entity, under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act.
“Detailed order of the Commission will follow,” the CCI said in a press release.
The approval comes nearly two months after upGrad sought the CCI’s clearance for the transaction. The company signed a term sheet in March to acquire Unacademy in a deal valued at about Rs 2,055 crore, or $218 million, according to Entrackr. In May, upGrad raised Rs 361 crore, or about $38 million, in a funding round led by co-founder and Chairman Ronnie Screwvala, valuing the company at roughly $1.73 billion. Existing investors, including Temasek, the International Finance Corporation and 360 ONE Opportunities Fund, also participated in the financing.
In March this year, Unacademy’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gaurav Munjal revealed that upGrad was planning to acquire his education-technology platform, Unacademy, in an all-stock deal.
Before that, upGrad had walked away from talks to acquire Unacademy, ending one of the edtech sector’s most closely watched deal discussions amid differences over valuation. The proposed all-stock transaction was said to value Unacademy at about $300 million, a steep drop from its $3.4 billion peak in 2021, while upGrad was seeking a valuation of roughly $2.25 billion for itself, according to people familiar with the matter. The collapse followed an earlier failed sale effort by Unacademy. In 2024, the company held talks with Kota-based Allen Career Institute, which also fell apart over valuation disagreements.
Source: Business-Standard