Exclusive: Byju’s infuses $376 Mn in WhiteHat Jr at a valuation of $590 Mn

Byju’s has been on an acquisition spree ever since it acquired WhiteHat Jr in August 2020. With a valuation of $300 million, the acquisition of the then 18 month-old company is one of the largest cash exits in the Indian startup ecosystem. 

While the details of the acquisition are not known and unlikely to be ever disclosed, Byju’s has just valued WhiteHat Jr at Rs 4,400 crore or $590 million. WhiteHat Jr has allotted 41,330 Series B preference shares at an issue price of Rs 677,476 per share to raise Rs 2,800 crore or $376 million from Byjus, regulatory filings show.

After this infusion, Byju’s controls 94.3% stake in the company whereas Karan Bajaj’s holding has been diluted to 5.7%. This fresh infusion of capital will likely be used for WhiteHat Jr’s expansion in new markets and further product developments.

WhiteHat Jr’s enterprise valuation jumped 2X within a year. While a two-fold surge in valuation appears significant in a year, Osmo’s valuation had jumped a staggering 6X within 20 months of its acquisition. According to Fintrackr, Osmo was valued at $727 million by Byju’s valuation report in September 2020. Byju’s had valued Osmo at $120 million at the time of acquisition (Jan 2019).

Product wise, WhiteHat Jr has a global appeal and Byju’s wants it to be a centre of its global expansion along with Osmo and Epic. According to experts tracking the company, the fresh proceeds would help it to bolster its presence in the US and global markets from Byju's eyes one-third of its total revenue. 

It’s worth noting that Bajaj is leading the one-to-one learning platform ‘Byju’s Future School’ in the overseas market.

Byju’s has emerged as the latest poster-boy of the Indian startup ecosystem after Paytm and Flipkart. The highest valued startup in the country at the moment and has mopped up over $1.5 billion and acquired six companies in 2021. 

The list includes Aakash Institute, Great Learning, Epic and Toppr by shelling out over $2 billion (majorly in cash). The company is also in the process of acquiring Gradeup. Entrackr had exclusively reported the development in April.