Byju’s, the world’s leading ed-tech startup, has received approval from its board to proceed with the initial public offering (IPO) of its tutoring services division, Aakash Educational Services. Byju’s aims to take Aakash public by mid-next year, with plans to appoint merchant bankers for a successful listing. The move comes as Byju’s faces a deadline for a $40 million interest payment on a loan. Byju’s acquired Aakash in April 2021 for close to $1 billion.
Byju’s, the world’s leading ed-tech startup, has received approval from its board for the initial public offering (IPO) of Aakash Educational Services, its tutoring services division. This decision has led to the postponement of the previously scheduled 2023 IPO, with the aim of taking Aakash public by mid-next year. Byju’s has stated that it will soon announce the appointment of merchant bankers for the IPO to ensure a well-planned and successful listing in the coming year. The move comes as Byju’s faces a deadline to make a $40 million quarterly interest payment on a loan it raised in November 2021.
Previously, sources had reported that Byju’s was preparing for a $1 billion public listing of Aakash, which would value the tutoring services unit at $3-4 billion. Byju’s has stated that Aakash is expected to generate revenues of Rs 4,000 crore in the fiscal year 2023-24, with an EBITDA of Rs 900 crore. Byju’s acquired Aakash in April 2021 through a $900 million deal. With the official approval from its board, Byju’s is now moving forward with its plans to bring Aakash Educational Services to the public market.
Note-: Byju’s paid “close to $1 billion” in cash and equity for the acquisition of Akash (about $600 million in cash and the rest in stock), which is one of the largest in the ed-tech space. (EY advised the firms on the transaction). Backed by Blackstone, Aakash owns and operates more than 200 physical tutoring centers across the country aimed at students preparing to qualify for top engineering and medical colleges. The firm serves over 250,000 high-school students.
The decades-old firm has made some of its offerings available online in recent years, but the pandemic’s recent shift to students’ preferences made Aakash and Byju’s explore a deal six-seven months ago in october 2020, executives from the firm had told media in a joint interview.
