- Byju’s puts Great Learning, Epic on the block to generate $800 million to $1 bn for loan repayment.
- Byju’s, which paid about $375 million for acquiring Epic in 2021, is expecting to garner about $400-550 million.
- The company has received three term sheets for Epic and the deal talks are at advanced stages.
- Byju’s, valued at $22 billion last year, has experienced a series of business crises, including its auditor and board members quitting.
Byju’s, India’s most-valued startup, has put two of its biggest assets—upskilling platform Great Learning and California-based reading platform Epic—on the block to generate about a billion dollars as it plans to repay the $1.2 billion term loan B in the next six months.
Byju‘s, which paid about $375 million for acquiring Epic in 2021, is expecting to garner about $400-550 million, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told the news agency. The company has received three term sheets for Epic and the deal talks are at advanced stages, the person said, requesting anonymity.
The company has also put Great Learning up for sale and has held preliminary talks with potential buyers, expecting to fetch about $400 million from the sale of the upskilling platform, the person said. Byju’s had paid about $350 million to acquire Great Learning in 2021. The discussions for the sale of Great Learning are still in the early stages.
Byju’s has been working with bankers for the two deals, the person cited above said. The company has also engaged in discussions with sovereign wealth funds for a potential equity fundraise. To be sure, Byju’s has been looking to raise at least $700 million since February this year and has held discussions with Middle East-based sovereign wealth funds, a news agency previously reported.
Byju’s, valued at $22 billion last year, has experienced a series of business crises, including its auditor and board members quitting, and has been negotiating the repayment of a $1.2 billion loan in the last few months.
Backed by investors such as General Atlantic, Prosus, and Silver Lake, Byju’s could also sell more assets in the future to raise cash, both sources said. A spokesperson for Byju’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Byju’s is expecting up to a billion dollars in total- about $400-550 million for Epic and $350-450 million for Great Learning, part of a “business turnaround strategy” the second source with direct knowledge said. Byju’s plans to sell the two companies are part of a “strategy review” to divest from other business lines and focus on its original area of K-12 (kindergarten through secondary) education area, the source said.
In June, three of Byju’s investor board members quit the company’s board without explanation, leaving only company executives on the board. The same day, its auditor Deloitte quit mid-way through its audit, saying there was a “significant impact” on its ability to perform the audit according to necessary standards after “long-delayed” financial statements by the company.
Three senior executives, including the company’s business head, quit their jobs last month.
