BlackRock Reportedly Slashes Byju’s Valuation to $1 Billion
The investment and asset management firm BlackRock has slashed Byju’s implied valuation once again, cutting it down to $1 billion from $22 billion in 2022, according to reports.
BlackRock, a mutual fund investor that owns less than 1 percent of the India-based company, had previously reduced Byju’s valuation in May 2023 by 62 percent, bringing it down to $8.3 billion, CNBC reported.
At the end of October last year, BlackRock had valued the Indian ed-tech giant’s shares at about $209.60, down from the peak price of $4,660 in 2022, according to BlackRock’s 2023 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
BlackRock is not the only investor making major cuts to its valuation of Byju’s. Late last year, Dutch investment company Prosus, which owns about 9 percent in Byju’s, said it valued the company at “sub–$3 billion,” according to TechCrunch, which reported this week on the recent decline in Byju’s valuation.
At $22 billion, Byju’s was at one point the most valuable start-up in India. It has drawn widespread attention, and an enormous amount of venture capital, since its founding. Investors have been intrigued by the company’s ambitions for bringing its digital learning products and lessons customizable to student needs to many markets, including the U.S.
Neither BlackRock nor Byju’s have responded yet to a request for comment from EdWeek Market Brief.
Despite having years of lofty valuations and having spent more than $2.5 billion on a series of acquisitions between 2021 and 2022, Byju’s has faced myriad financial and regulatory challenges over the last year.
These included the reported departures last year of the company’s chief financial officer and three board members, as well as the auditing firm Deloitte’s decision to end its working relationship with the company.
Last year, Byju’s also settled a lawsuit brought by a group of lenders over a $1.2 billion loan. The lenders accused the education company of “repeated and ongoing breaches” of a credit agreement when the organization had not provided them with updated financial data, among other complaints. Byju’s disputed the allegations.
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