Ed-tech unicorn, Think & Learn Private Limited aka Byju’s has secured Rs 2,200 crore (~$296 million) in a Series F funding round, illustrating investor confidence in the country’s most valuable startup despite its growing losses.
According to regulatory filings accessed by researcher Tofler, the latest fundraising was led by New York-based Oxshott Capital Partners, which injected Rs 1,200 crores. Edelweiss Group (Rs 344.9 crore), IIFL (Rs 110 crore), Verition Multi-Strategy Master Fund (Rs 147 crore), and XN Exponent Holdings (Rs 150 crore) also participated in the round. The company proposes to issue 77,174 Series F compulsorily convertible cumulative preference shares with a face value of Rs 10 apiece to investors at a securities premium of Rs 2,85,062.
As the covid pandemic sparked an online learning revolution, with parents enrolling their children in online lessons as schools being shut down to prevent the spread of infection, the startup garnered some of the largest cheques from institutional investors in the last year.
Byju’s, headquartered in Bengaluru, may be valued at $18 billion as a result of the fresh funding, up from a valuation of $16.5 billion in June of this year. Byju’s became India’s most valued startup in June, with a valuation of $16.5 billion, overtaking the $16 billion valuation of IPO-bound fintech startup Paytm.
The latest development comes just a few weeks after BYJU raised $150 million in a funding round anchored by Asmaan Ventures and ARK Ncore, valuing the company at $16.8 billion. Byju’s that time issued 38,705 Series F preference shares to Asmaan Ventures while Mirae Asset and ARK Ncore received 6,045 Series F preference shares (each worth Rs 2,85,072).
The $150 million investment is part of a $1 billion round that Byju’s has been planning for months, as reported earlier. This latest Rs 2,200 crore (~$296 million) infusion appears to be the second installment of this $1 billion deal.
The edtech behemoth is reportedly considering an IPO, which could value the company between $40-$45 billion. According to sources, the ed-tech decacorn seeks to debut on the Indian stock exchanges within the next 8-10 months.
The scale of Byju’s IPO has yet to be finalized as many components of the initial public offering are being discussed, according to media reports. Byju’s will follow the footsteps of cab-hailing aggregator Ola, food delivery aggregator Swiggy, and financial platform Pine Labs, among others, in considering its IPO.
According to the company’s regulatory filings, Bjyu’s consolidated net sales surged by roughly 80 percent during FY19-20 compared to the previous year. However, its losses increased roughly 30 times throughout the time period under evaluation.
Byju’s collaborates with NITI Aayog to provide free tech-driven learning programs to school kids
