Byjus is bigger, values itself at $23bn

Based on the latest revenue figures, Byju’s is valuing itself at $22.6 billion, almost $6 billion more than its October valuation.

The higher revenue and valuation are the result of a string of acquisitions that helped the edtech company nearly double its revenues in a year. The company was valued at $16.7 billion in October, two people aware of the development said, citing an internal valuation exercise. Revenue of Think and Learn Pvt. Ltd, which operates Byju’s, neared ₹10,000 crore in FY22, they said.

Byju’s is yet to officially announce its financial results for FY22, pending an audit. In FY22, the company made several high-value acquisitions in India, the US and Europe, the largest being the $1 billion takeover of Akash Educational Services.

Its revenues have grown 250 times from ₹40 crore in fiscal year 2015 to ₹10,000 crore in FY22, a compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, of 125%.

“Byju’s’ valuation has risen by 36% in eight months because of new revenue channels opening up for the edtech major by virtue of its acquisitions," one of the two people cited above said on condition of anonymity due to reasons of confidentiality.

“Byju’s core business of online education and tutorial packages are selling fast, and revenues from acquired educational firms are growing steadily. Typically, Byju’s has seen a 25% growth in valuation annually. But the recent acquisitions have bettered the earnings prospect for Byju’s, which is why there is a higher jump in valuation this time," the person said.

According to an internal valuation note reviewed by Mint, Byju’s share price rose from $3,800 in October to $4,750 now, lifting its valuation.

In March, the company announced an $800 million funding round, including a $400 million investment by founder Byju Raveendran. Media reports at the time pegged the valuation of the company at $22 billion, citing unidentified company executives.

An email sent to a spokesperson for Byju’s remained unanswered.

“The sharp rise in share price and valuation is primarily attributed to almost a 100% revenue growth for the fiscal year 2022. The revenue is particularly coming from Byju’s core business, and the incomes earned by edtech-related firms acquired by Byju’s worldwide, resulting in higher pricing offers made by investors wanting to put money in Byju’s’ business," said the first person.

Mint reported on 5 July that Byju’s is at an advanced stage to acquire Maryland-based edtech firm 2U Inc. for close to $2.4 billion in the largest acquisition in this space, for which the edtech major has kicked off a massive fundraising exercise. It has approved a ₹5,547 crore private placement of shares and separately secured a $2.4 billion acquisition financing commitment from JPMorgan.

In December 2021, Byju’s acquired Austria-based online edtech firm GeoGebra for around $100 million, which runs interactive mathematics learning tools for a community of over 100 million users across 195 countries. In 2021, it spent over $2 billion on acquisitions that include Aakash Institute, $500 million for Epic (a kids learning platform) and around $600 million for Great Learning (a platform for professional and higher education).

Byju’s also acquired education firms Toppr in July last year for $150 million and Tynker in September for around $200 million. Earlier, in 2019 and 2020, Byju’s made a series of acquisitions, WhiteHat Jr. and Osmo being the biggest ones, for $300 million and $120 million, respectively.