Edutech Startup Byju's To Buy Aakash Educational Services In $1 Billion Mega Deal

Byju's, which is currently valued at $12 billion, is one of India's leading edutech startups backed by global names including Mark Zuckerberg, Mary Meeker and various investing giants.

Founder and CEO of BYJU'S learning app. (Image: Getty)

Online education startup Byju's is in talks to acquire exam preparation firm Aakash Educational Services Limited for $1 billion, according to a report by Bloomberg. Making it one of the largest edtech acquisitions, it is being said that the deal will be formalised within two to three months. The report also stated that the initial level talks between the two firms are underway. If finalised, it would become of the biggest acquisitions of the world. Headquartered in New Delhi, Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) is the biggest education organisation in India. Over the period of time, Aakash Educational Services Limited has become a renowned name when it comes to comprehensive test preparatory services for students preparing for medical and engineering entrance examinations. Apart from test preparations, Aakash is also known for services related to school and board exams and competitive exams such as NTSE, KVPY, and Olympiads. Meanwhile, Bengaluru-based Byju's, which is currently valued at $12 billion, is one of India's leading edutech startups backed by global names  including Mark Zuckerberg, Mary Meeker and various investing giants. There has been no official confirmation about the dead by either of the companies, but speculations are rife that after the deal Aakash's founders - Chaudhary family will make an exit from the company. The report also stated that Blackstone will take over a portion of its 37.5 equity in Aakash for Byju's stake. Byju's had in September 2020 raised $500 million (approximately Rs 3,689 crore) in a new funding round led by global technology investment firm Silver Lake. Other investors in the firm are Tiger Global, General Atlantic and Owl Ventures. Byju's last year also acquired a Mumbai based coding platform, for $300 million. 20 million new students starting learning from its platform for free since the lockdown. The app currently has over 64 million registered students and 4.2 million annual paid subscriptions. Byju's had doubled its revenue from Rs 1,430 crore to Rs 2,800 crore in fiscal 2019-2020.