Samreen Ahmad · · 2 min readByju’s founder borrows $400m to up stake in firm
Byju Raveendran, co-founder of Byju’s, India’s biggest edtech startup, has personally invested US$400 million in the company, raising his family’s stake by around 2%, a source close to the development told Tech in Asia.
Raveendran raised the amount that he invested in the company via loans from several international banks in exchange for a security of 2% of the company’s shares, said the source. This is the last private round of funding before the company goes public and Raveendran saw this as an opportunity to up his stake in the company, the source explained.
Byju Raveendran, founder and CEO of Byju’s.
“Raveendran raised the debt at favourable terms of interest rates and the risk involved,” added the source.
Including Raveendran’s injection, the company raised a total of US$800 million in its latest round at a valuation of US$22 billion. The remaining US$400 million came from other investors like Sumeru Ventures, Vitruvian Partners, and BlackRock.
Raveendran and his family now own nearly 25% of the company, which is eyeing a US$4 billion IPO within the next few quarters. Byju’s is tentatively set to list within the next nine to 12 months, another person close to the development said. It is exploring both US and India listing options.
International expansion
Byju’s invested over US$2 billion in acquisitions last year. This year, too, it will continue with inorganic growth apart besides focusing on its IPO plans, said the source.
“We continue to witness accelerated growth in India and international markets through both organic and inorganic routes,” said Raveendran in a statement.
See also: Byju’s aims to be profitable by FYE 2022 despite acquisition spree
Most of the acquisitions will be explored in the US as its previous acquisitions have done well for the company, added the source. The US market already generates around 25% of the company’s revenue – a figure it hopes to take to 40% in the next three years. Byju’s has acquired Tynker, Epic, and Osmo in the US so far.
Editing by Miguel Cordon and Arpit Nayak
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