Byju's might acquire Edtech start-up Toppr for $150 million
Indian Edtech giant Byju's is closer to acquiring rival Toppr in a deal pegged at approximately $150 million. Both Byju's and Toppr cater to the burgeoning K-12 (Kindergarten to Class 12) education space. The primary objective of the deal seems to be checking the growing competitor and gaining access to its sizable subscriber base from the big data and analytics perspective.
The rumored acquisition deal will be a mix of cash and equity according to two unnamed individuals familiar with the matter. Toppr's investors have the option of either opting for a cash payout or a stake in Byju's parent firm. The news was first reported by Entrackr and then independently confirmed by The Times of India.
The demand for Edtech solutions has trebled after school shutdowns during the pandemic, prompting significant funding push to players such as Byju's and Unacademy in the country. The rush for online tutoring has not surprisingly coincided with these firms successfully raising large amounts of venture capitalist funding. Byju's had raised in excess of $1.25 billion in 2020, with its current valuation being $12 billion.
The rumors of Toppr acquisition come after Byju's successful purchase of WhiteHat Jr. The Edtech giant paid around $300 million for the coding school targeted at young children in 2020. However, the start-up has been in the center of controversy ever since Byju's took on the reins, with accusations of fraudulent advertisements, wildly unscrupulous business practices, censorship, and associated high-profile lawsuits.
However, none of the controversies seem to have diminished Byju's desire to acquire virtually every significant Edtech entity in India, with the exception of the fellow unicorn Unacademy. The company is reportedly in the process of signing a deal to acquire test prep company Aakash Educational Services Limited for a massive $1 billion, which could be Byju's accounting for the students' return to schools.
