upGrad Joins Bidding Fray For BYJU’S Parent Company

Edtech major upGrad has submitted an expression of interest (EoI) to bid for Think & Learn, the bankrupt parent company of edtech startup BYJU’S.

With this, the Ronnie Screwvala-led company has joined Ranjan Pai’s Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG) among the entities interested in buying Think & Learn, ET reported. 

upGrad is assessing all the businesses of Think & Learn, including K12, Great Learning and Aakash Educational Services, the report added. 

“We have filed an EoI in the Think & Learn resolution and liquidation process that includes all their assets, including the K12 business and Aakash… There are assets in Think & Learn that are in the higher education space as also where young learners/ college graduates aspire to learn more, and we would be focussed on those assets,” Screwvala was quoted as saying.

Earlier Manipal Group also submitted an EoI to evaluate the possibility of acquiring Aakash, in which it already owns around 58%.

Think & Learn’s resolution professional (RP) Shailendra Ajmera has initiated the sale process that will give bidders the option to acquire all of Think & Learn or specific assets, including Aakash and other units like GeoGebra, WhiteHat Jr and Toppr. The assets on offer also cover inventory, receivables, fixtures and furniture, the BYJU’S Learning app, as well as other intangible assets and course material.

The development comes at a time when upGrad is also reportedly considering acquisition of edtech startup Unacademy in an all-stock deal. The deal is expected to value the startup at about $300 Mn to $320 Mn, a 90% drop from Unacademy’s peak valuation of $3.4 Bn in 2021

The corporate insolvency resolution process for Think & Learn was initiated last year after the BCCI moved the NCLT to recover dues of INR 158 Cr. 

BYJU’s went on an acquisition spree in 2020 and 2021. It acquired a majority stake in Aakash in 2021 for about $1 Bn. However, it started facing troubles in 2022 as it was unable to clear its debt, some of which was raised by pledging Aakash’s shares. 

As BYJU’s was unable to pay off its debt and fulfill its commitments, MEMG chairman Pai stepped into BYJU’S quagmire and paid off $170 Mn debt that freed up 27% of Aakash’s shares that were held as collateral. In total, Pai had invested about $300 Mn in Aakash and currently is the largest shareholder in the company. 

Recently, Aakash got the go ahead from the Supreme Court to proceed with its rights issue. Pai’s family office is reportedly planning to invest an additional INR 250 Cr in Aakash during the coaching chain’s ongoing INR 450 Cr to INR 500 Cr rights issue.