Indian education-technology company Byju's is in talks with Joffrey Capital Limited to sell its American kids digital reading platform 'Epic' for about $ 400 million (about Rs 3 thousand crore). Through this the company wants to reduce financial challenges. Bloomberg has given information about this in one of its reports.
According to the report, apart from Joffrey Capital Limited, other companies including Duolingo Inc. have also expressed interest in buying Epic. However, till now no company has given official information about it.
Byju's will be acquired by Creations Inc. from the funds raised from the sale of Epic. This will help in the controversial loan payment of $ 1.2 million (about ₹ 9 crore). This information has been given in the report quoting people familiar with the matter.
Actually, Byju's is in dispute with creditors over delay in payment of term loan used in the global acquisition spree during the Covid pandemic. Earlier in September, Bloomberg had reported in its report that Byju's has proposed to repay the entire $1.2 billion loan in less than 6 months through property sales.
Moelis & Co. is managing the sale of Epic and the deal is expected to be finalized this month. However, Byju's has not taken any final decision yet.
Byju's acquired Epic in 2021
Byju's acquired Epic in 2021 for $500 million as part of its global expansion. Epic, established about 10 years ago, has more than 40 thousand books accessible online.
Byjus faces loss of ₹2,250 crore in FY 2022
Just two days ago, Byju's has released the results for the financial year ending March 31, 2022, in which the company has suffered a loss of Rs 2,250 crore. Whereas a year ago the company had suffered a loss of Rs 2406 crore.
However, the company's income increased from ₹1,552 crore to ₹3,569 crore. The company is under regulatory scrutiny for various reasons including delay in releasing financial results.
Founder and CEO Byju Raveendran had said after the results were released, 'The turbulent financial year 2022 has taught us a lot. This year we have made 9 acquisitions, which highlight the potential of education technology in India, the world's fastest growing economy.
A lot has changed in the world after the Corona epidemic, it has taught us a lot. Byju's will move forward with sustainable and profitable growth in the coming years.
