Byju’s plans to sell some of its units to raise funds and repay debt as part of a broader plan to turn around the online education pioneer once deemed India’s most valuable startup.
(Bloomberg) — Byju’s plans to sell some of its units to raise funds and repay debt as part of a broader plan to turn around the online education pioneer once deemed India’s most valuable startup.
The company is in talks with private equity funds and strategic investors to sell US-based kids’ digital reading platform Epic! Creations Inc., and Great Learning Education Pte. to bolster its balance sheet, according to people familiar with the matter.
A successful sale will leave the firm’s eponymous founder, Byju Raveendran, with enough cash to expand the business after paying off all its debt, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public.
The Bangalore-based company acquired Epic for about $500 million and Great Learning, professional training and higher education platform, for about $600 million in 2021 in cash-and-stock deals. Byju’s is seeking to raise more than a billion dollars from the divestments, the people said.
A spokesperson for Byju’s didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company has made a surprise repayment proposal to lenders to pay back its entire $1.2 billion term loan in less than six months, Bloomberg News reported on Monday. Part of the sale proceeds will be used for this payment, the people said.
Byju’s is also working on finalizing the audited accounts for the financial year ending March 2022 by Sept. 30 and for the subsequent year by December. It will seek to raise fresh equity to boost its business after filing the results, they said.
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