The initial public offering (IPO) of Byju’s subsidiary, Aakash Education Services Limited (AESL), will begin in the middle of the following year, the company announced on Monday. The announcement was made as the prominent edtech company, based in Bengaluru, dealt with a loan default and allegations of breaking foreign exchange rules.
According to a statement from the company, the IPO will be a significant turning point in the growth and expansion of Aakash + Byju’s, resulting in a comprehensive portfolio of products that serve a wider range of students.
To ensure a planned and successful listing next year, Byju’s board has officially given its approval for this crucial undertaking, and the appointment of the merchant bankers for the IPO will be announced soon.
Byju’s spent almost $1 billion to buy Aakash in April 2021.
The company claims that the IPO will provide a sizable capital infusion to strengthen Aakash’s infrastructure, expand its reach, and offer top-notch test-prep education to more students across the country.
According to Byju’s, AESL is on track to generate Rs 4,000 crore in revenue and Rs 900 crore in EBITDA during the fiscal year 2023–2024. Aakash claimed to have made over Rs 1,250 crore in revenue in the fiscal year ending in March 2022, despite the fact that it has not yet submitted its annual financial reports for the previous two fiscal years.
The NEET, IIT-JEE main and advanced, NTSE Olympiad, classroom courses along with distance learning, and various scholarship programs are all offered by the Aakash Institute, a platform for competitive exam preparation. More than 400,000 students use the platform, which has more than 325 centers, to study for engineering and medical entrance exams.
Since the start of the year, Byju’s has drawn attention for a number of reasons, including debt financing, widespread layoffs, and ED raids.
The company recently raised $250 million via a structured credit transaction from US-based alternative investment firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management after terminating over 1,000 employees in February. In the meantime, the ED searched three locations belonging to Byju Raveendran and his business, Think & Learn Private Limited (Byju’s). But according to Byju’s, the recent visit by ED representatives was connected to a routine investigation under FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act).
Returning to the company’s financial situation, Byju’s scale increased just 4% to Rs 2,280 crore in FY21 from Rs 2,189 crore in the prior fiscal year (FY20), representing a modest increase. The company, which has not yet submitted its FY22 financial information, stated that for the fiscal year that ended in March 2022, it generated nearly Rs 10,000 crore in gross revenues.
