Prosus marks down Byju’s valuation to less than $3 Bn

Investment firm Prosus has marked down the value of its stake in Byju's to less than $3 billion. This is a more than 86% haircut in the valuation of the edtech company from its peak of $22 billion in October last year.

“We are not disclosing the (exact) valuation, but it is sub-$3 billion,” said Ervin Tu, interim CEO of Prous during its earnings call. Tu took over the post of CEO from Bob van Dijk in September.

Prosus has invested $536 million in Byju’s since 2018. In June, it revalued its investment to $493 million, marking an 8% decline. Besides Prosus, Byju’s early backer Blackrock also marked down its investment in the firm.

The huge markdown from its major backer will add more woes to Byju’s which has been facing backlash from its investors, board, employees and media. It’s worth noting that Byju’s has been the top valued company in the edtech space for quite some time. It’s far ahead of its competitors including Unacademy, Vedantu, upGrad, LEAD, among others in terms of valuation.

However, the past 12 months or so have been tumultuous for the Bengaluru-based edtech giant as it went through mass layoffs, top level attrition, and under the radar of crime fighting agencies Enforcement Directorate for alleged violation of FEMA regulations. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also dragged Byju’s to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLAT) over jersey sponsor dispute.

Debt investors have dragged Byju’s to court after it failed repayment deadlines, Peak XV (formerly Sequoia), Prosus and Chan Zuckerberg withdrew their representation from Byju’s board as the firm failed to disclose its audited financial statements for FY22 and FY23.