BYJU’s, a prominent name in the Indian edtech space, has successfully garnered $250 million in a funding round led by US investment firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management. This investment marks a significant development in the company’s ongoing $1-billion funding endeavour and offers a respite from a prolonged period of financial turbulence and regulatory challenges.
The Bengaluru-based firm is reportedly engaging in advanced dialogues with a host of international investors, including sovereign wealth funds from West Asia, to seal the funding round. Details of the funding round remained unconfirmed by BYJU’s at the time of this report.
Although BYJU’s has retained its valuation at a whopping $22 billion, the latest funding round is closely linked to the public listing of its subsidiary, Aakash Educational Services. BYJU’s co-founder Divya Gokulnath had previously disclosed the IPO plans for Aakash in February.
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The funding round, which combines debt and equity, has seen participation from both new and existing investors, and is expected to close by the end of the month. The company has faced some financial pressure following an accounting change in its FY 21 financial reporting which led to a significant drop in revenue and squeezed profits. In addition, some of BYJU’s early investors have been exploring exit options.
Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP, the New York-based investor with over $36 billion in assets under management, expanded its operations in India in December 2021, opening an office in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex.
This news is based on a report by livemint website.
