Byju’s Valuation Tumbles As BlackRock Devalued Its Stake In Company By 95%

BlackRock, the global asset manager, has disclosed that the valuation of its stake in Indian edtech giant Byju”s has fallen from $22 billion to about $1 billion, which is a 95 percent drop, indicating a significant devaluation of Byju”s, which once held the title of India”s most valuable startup.

Prosus, another investor in Byju”s, started devaluing the company”s shares to “sub-$3 billion” before BlackRock reduced 90 percent, causing the Byjus implied valuation to tumble from about $4,660 at its peak in 2022 to $209.6 per share at the end of October last year, given the fact that Byju”s had achieved a valuation as high as $50 billion, indicating the troubles faced by the company.

A bunch of industry heavyweights such as Peak XV Partners, Lightspeed, UBS, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, who were backing the company, had an ambitious plan for an IPO in early 2022, before external factors, including Russia”s invasion of Ukraine in February, disrupted market conditions and forced Byju”s to postpone its IPO plans.

Earlier, it was reported that the cash strapped Edutech firm was struggling to provide salaries to the employees. Byju’s has been reeling under severe organizational problems, including a cash crunch and lawsuits. There are reports that, in order to overcome the issues, the company may sell its subsidiaries, including the US-based kids’ digital reading platform, for about $400 million.

It also looks to resolve a legal battle with creditors over a missed interest payment on a $1.2 billion term loan.