Edtech decacorn Byju's has completed the acquisition of exam preparation firm Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) in a nearly $1-billion cash-and-stock deal. Post the transaction, Blackstone Group and Aakash Institute’s founders will hold a minority stake in Byju’s at a valuation of about $13 billion.
According to reports, Byju's said the deal is a strategic partnership with AESL, a leader in test-prep services. “I am happy to have Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL), a market leader and the most trusted name in the test-prep services, on board with us,” said Byju Raveendran, Founder, and CEO, Byju’s. “Our complementary strengths will enable us to build capabilities, create engaging and personalised learning programmes. The future of learning is hybrid and this union will bring together the best of offline and online learning, as we combine our expertise to create impactful experiences for students.”
Aakash Educational Services is a 33-year-old chain of physical coaching centres. Aakash owns and operates more than 200 physical tutoring centres across the country aimed at students preparing to qualify for top engineering and medical colleges. “At Aakash, we are looking to transform student experiences by steering innovative and digitally-enabled learning solutions. Together with Byju’s, we will work towards building an omnichannel learning offering that will accelerate test-prep experience to the next level,” said Aakash Chaudhry, managing director, AESL.
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The acquisition helps Byju's to further consolidate its leadership position in the world’s second largest internet market. The deal explains why Byju's was on a fund-raising spree in recent times. Reportedly, Byju’s raised over $1 billion last year and is already inching closer to securing another half a billion dollars.
The addition of Aakash is a significant step towards strengthening Byju’s product offering. It reiterates Byju’s focus on creating impactful learning products for students by adding more verticals, subjects, and languages to the same platform.
EY was the exclusive financial advisor for Byju’s on this transaction. Phoenix Advisors was the exclusive advisor for the AESL.
