Investment giant Prosus has cut the valuation of edtech giant Byju’s to less than $3 billion, marking a sharp decline from the $22 billion valuation the Indian startup achieved early last year.
Byju’s faces many “challenges” and Prosus and other backers are working side by side to help the Bengaluru-headquartered startup, Prosus interim CEO Ervin To said in an earnings call on Wednesday after the investment giant reported financial results. For the six months until September.
Byju’s’ valuation write-down comes as the Bengaluru-headquartered startup is restructuring operations and cutting costs after huge pandemic-era growth left it facing mounting losses. The news is the latest notable turnaround in the fortunes of Byju’s, which has raised more than $5 billion to date.
The startup — which also counts Peak It is also scrambling to settle its $1.2 billion debt and is under an ongoing investigation by India’s money laundering agency’s Enforcement Directorate, which has accused Byju’s of violating the country’s foreign exchange law to the tune of $1.12 billion.
Ajay Goel, Byju’s chief financial officer, left the startup in less than seven months to return to Vedanta in late October, following the sudden, high-profile departure of auditor Deloitte and three key Byju’s board members in June. Prosus publicly criticized the Bengaluru-headquartered startup in July for not developing enough and ignoring investor advice and recommendations despite repeated attempts.
Prosus has proactively adjusted the value of its stake in Byju’s, in which it holds more than 9% stake, for over a year. Brosus valued Byju’s at $5.1 billion at the end of March.
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A slide of Prosus’ financial results on Wednesday. (Image: Brosos)
Prosus, one of Europe’s most valuable technology companies, has named Byju’s and Pharmeasy, an Indian online pharmacy startup that raised capital this year at a valuation nearly 90% below its 2021 highs, among “companies with… “Significant underperformance” of the Amsterdam-listed company.
The net asset value of Prosus’ e-commerce portfolio, which includes fintech, edtech, food delivery and enterprise deals, was $29 billion at the end of the first half of fiscal 2024, down from $50 billion during the same period. Period two years ago. The investment giant said the internal rate of return fell to 5% in the first half of fiscal 2024, down from 18% during the same period two years ago, giving…
Not everything is doomed in India for Prosus and its huge investments in the country. Its payments company PayU now hopes for an IPO in the second half of 2024 as its operations expand efficiently, the company said on Wednesday. Prosus also touted the strong growth of food delivery leader Swiggy.