People walk past an advertising hoarding of Byju’s, an Education Technology company and one of India’s biggest startup, outside one of its branch in New Delhi, India, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
BENGALURU, Nov 6 (Reuters) – Indian ed-tech firm Byju’s is in advanced talks to sell its U.S.-based kids’ digital reading platform Epic! Creations for about $400 million to private equity fund Joffre Capital, seeking funds to ease its financial pressures, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Byju’s has been looking to raise up to $1 billion by selling two companies – Great Learning and Epic – in a bid to streamline its business and repay lenders, Reuters reported in September.
The potential sale of Epic would help Byju’s fund its disputed $1.2 billion term loan, the Bloomberg report said, adding that other bidders, including Duolingo (DUOL.O), which designs and develops mobile learning platforms, also expressed interest in buying Epic.
Byju’s did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment, while Joffre and Duolingo could not be immediately reached as it is outside of their business hours in the United States.
Moelis and co is running the sale process for Epic and a deal could be finalised by this month, the report said.
Byju’s, backed by investors such as General Atlantic, Prosus and Silver Lake, and valued at $22 billion last year, has been roiled by a string of setbacks, including its auditor and board members quitting. It has also been negotiating the repayment of a $1.2 billion loan in the last few months.
Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema
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