Byju’s says cleared dues to Blackstone in Aakash deal

MUMBAI: India's most valuable startup, Byju's, on Saturday said it has cleared all dues it owed to private equity major Blackstone Group as part of a deal to acquire Aakash Educational Services.

The edtech firm, last valued at $22.6 billion, had announced the acquisition of test prep business Aakash Educational in April 2021 in a $950 million cash and stock deal. While Byju's made the payments to the test prep business's founder Aakash Chaudhury in July 2022, that to Blackstone, a stakeholder in the company, was left pending.

The company has "completed the last tranche of Aakash payments to Blackstone as per the agreed timeline," a New Delhi-based spokesman for Byju's said on Saturday. 

The company did not disclose when were the payments made. Blackstone didn't respond to an email seeking comment.

Byju's has so far raised nearly $6 billion from over 70 investors, including the likes of General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital, Sofina and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. 

The edtech startup's loss widened sharply to ₹4,588.75 crore for 2020-21 from ₹231.69 crore in the previous year, following a change in revenue recognition methodology.