Byju’s has raised $250 million in fresh funding and is close to securing about $700 million more, two people familiar with the matter told TC, as the Indian edech giant builds up its war chest ahead of the highly-anticipated IPO of its subsidiary Aakash.
The New York-headquartered investment firm Davidson Kempner has invested $250 million in Byju’s via structured instruments, the people said, requesting anonymity as the information is not public.
The firm is finalizing remainder of the capital from a sovereign fund, the people said. That capital, expected to arrive in two weeks, will come into the startup as part of a convertible note that caps the valuation at $22 billion.
Byju’s has maintained its $22 billion valuation throughout the past year and a half even as numerous high-profile startups globally have had severe corrections in their value.
Davidson Kempner and Byju’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The large financing round in Byju’s comes at a time when the Indian startup ecosystem is reeling from a funding crunch amid weakening global economy. At $22 billion valuation, Byju’s is India’s most valuable private tech firm.
Byju’s is in advanced discussions with bankers including Citi and Goldman Sachs to go ahead with the IPO of Aakash, a physical tutor chain it acquired for nearly $1 billion more than a year ago, TC reported earlier.
Byju’s has received the approval from its board of directors to go ahead with the IPO of Aakash, and it’s gearing up to file the paper work.
