Byju’s acquires Aakash Educational Services (AESL) for $1 billion

Byju’s said the deal is a strategic partnership with AESL (Aakash Educational Services Limited), which is a leader in competitive exam preparation services. However, the companies did not give statement on the financial details of the deal.

Biggest Edtech Company Byju’s on Monday, announced that it has acquired Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL) for approx $1 billion (Rs 7,300 crore).

Byju’s acquires AESL (Aakash Educational Services) for $1 billion

The deal is Byju’s biggest acquisition till date in India’s edtech space.

Meanwhile, AESL will operate independently post the acquisition, with founders Aakash Chaudhry and J.C. Chaudhry continuing to steer the company. Byju’s said the deal is a strategic partnership with AESL, which is a leader in exam-prep services.

As part of the transaction, Aakash founders and Blackstone will become shareholders in Byju’s. EY was the exclusive financial advisor for Byju’s on this transaction. Phoenix Advisors was the exclusive advisor for AESL.

Byju’s, which is the most valued edtech startup in the India, is backed by marquee investors like Mary Meeker, Yuri Milner, Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Tencent, Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global and others. It is estimated to have raised over $2 billion in funding to date.

In the past, Byju’s had acquired TutorVista and Edurite (from Pearson in 2017) and Osmo in 2019.

“This will be the largest integration in the education space in India, especially in the startup space…Covid has really opened the gates to online education significantly and going forward, we believe that all kinds of models in education will exist in K-12, test prep and even in higher education,” AESL Managing Director Aakash Chaudhry told PTI.

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