Byju's to acquire Aakash for $1 billion: Report
The Chaudhry family will reportedly completely exit from Aakash
The Chaudhry family will reportedly completely exit from Aakash
The Chaudhry family will reportedly completely exit from Aakash
The Chaudhry family will reportedly completely exit from Aakash
After a slew of fund-raising rounds in 2020 that made online edtech startup Byju’s the second-most valuable private firm in India, the company seems ready to spend its cash. According to a Bloomberg report, Byju’s has agreed to buy Aakash Education Services—which runs over 200 physical tutoring centres across India—for $1 billion.
The deal, expected to be closed within the next 2-3 months, would be among the largest edtech acquisitions in the world.
Byju’s, valued at around $12 billion, would be acquiring a brick-and-mortar tutoring firm with over 2.5 lakh students. In late 2019, Blackstone acquired a 37.5 per cent stake in Aakash.
According to the report, Aakash’s founders, the Chaudhry family, would exit completely, while Blackstone will swap a portion of its 37.5 per cent equity in Aakash for Byju’s stake.
Neither Byju’s nor Aakash have responded to the report yet.
In the aftermath of COVID-19, in-person tutoring has taken a hit while online services like those offered by Byju’s have skyrocketed in popularity. Byju’s now reportedly serves over 7 crore students.
Investors in Byju’s include Mark Zuckerberg's Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Naspers and Tiger Global Management, and DSP Global.