Edtech firm Byju’s is expected to raise between $ 600 million and $ 700 million from new and existing investors in a new round of funding. The deal is estimated to increase the valuation of the Bengaluru-based company from $ 12 billion to around $ 15 billion.
The funds will be used to buy Aakash Educational Services, a company that operates a chain of fixed training centers for exam preparation, Entracker reported.
While the deal has yet to be announced, it was reported in January that Byju’s would buy Aakash Educational Services for $ 1 billion.
The acquisition is expected to take place in the coming weeks, according to the report.
This is the first round of funding for Byju’s in 2021. The company was on a fundraising drive in 2020 and raised more than $ 1 billion in one year.
Also read: Byju’s raises $200 million in fresh funding
Aakash Educational Services would be Byju’s third major acquisition in the past two years. In 2019, the American company acquired Osmo for $ 120 million. In August 2020, Byju acquired WhiteHat Jr, another Ed-Tech startup specializing in online coding courses for kids.
The company founded by Byju Raveen¬dran has raised about $ 2.1 billion from investors to date. India’s second-largest startup is backed by Mark Zuckerberg’s Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Tiger Global Management, and Bond Capital, co-founded by Silicon Valley investor Mary Meeker.
Targeting more than 70 million users in more than 1,700 cities in India, Bjyus creates educational content for students from kindergarten to grade 12. It is claimed to add more than 5 million users per month.
