Byju’s raises $250 Mn in debt from Davidson Kempner

Byju's has raised $250 million via structured credit transaction from US-based alternative investment firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management.

The fundraise comes amid reports of Bengaluru-based edtech giant exploring the market for a larger round.

According to Economic Times, which first reported the development, the transaction was raised via a combination of non-convertible debentures (NCD) and a smaller portion of compulsorily convertible debentures (CCDs) linked to Aakash’s final valuation for the upcoming IPO.

In October last year, Byju’s picked up a collateral free loan of $36.5 million from its wholly-owned subsidiary Aakash for its core business activities. Byju’s also raised another $250 million from existing investors including Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). This was the last equity round for the Byju Raveendran-led edtech unicorn.

Byju’s has been in the spotlight for mass layoffs and raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over alleged FEMA violations. A couple of weeks ago, ED conducted search operations at three premises of Raveendran and his company, Think & Learn Private Limited (Byju’s). However, Byju’s claimed that the recent visit by ED officials was related to a routine inquiry under FEMA.

The country’s largest valued private company also faced a valuation markdown with BlackRock cutting Byju’s valuation by nearly half to $11.5 billion. In November last year, Prosus' accounting entry indicated that it valued the edtech firm at $5.97 billion. Amidst valuation markdown, the company is reportedly closing a $1 billion round at its last valuation: $22 billion.

Entrackr has reached out to Byju’s for comments.

While Byju’s has not disclosed its financial numbers for FY22 yet, its revenue grew only 4% to Rs 2280 crore in FY21 from Rs 2,189 crore in the previous fiscal year (FY20). As per its annual financial statements with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), the company’s losses surged nearly 15X to Rs 4,564 crore in FY21 as compared to Rs 305 crore in FY20. The company claimed that it registered nearly Rs 10,000 crore in gross revenues in FY22.