Edtech Byju's Raises $700 Million Funding: Report

Byju's has raised $700 million in funding through equity and convertible notes at a valuation of $22 billion, as reported by Moneycontrol. The funding round is said to be led by two West Asia-based sovereign wealth funds and private equity firms, with some existing investors also participating. 

The money will be used, in part, to pay off debt, with sources saying that $400-500 million has been set aside for this purpose. Byju's had originally planned to merge several subsidiaries into its parent company, Think and Learn, but is now said to be considering listing only Aakash separately in India, with the timeline for this being 10-12 months away.

This latest funding comes as Byju's works on paying back a large $1.2 billion term loan B that it secured in November 2021, with a group of lenders renegotiating the terms in December 2021, including faster repayment of part of the loan. To date, Byju's has raised over $5 billion in funding, with its last major raise being $250 million at a valuation of $22 billion from the Qatar Investment Authority in November 2022. 

Recently, the company announced the appointment of new chief financial officer Ajay Goel Byju’s as the firm renegotiates conditions for its $1.2 billion term loan B and ahead of filing its fiscal year 2022 (FY22) financials.

Byju’s has been seeking to refinance its $1.2 billion term loan B at a higher rate due to delays in publishing FY21 and FY22 results, which triggered lenders to recall the loans. Goel's appointment was expected to work closely with Byju’s senior leadership on strategy development, capital planning and financial analysis.