Byju’s turns to internal round as Middle East funding looks shaky

Why read this story?

Editor's note: Byju’s negotiations with sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East to raise a new equity round have stalled, according to people with knowledge of the talks. Byju’s—India’s largest education technology company with a valuation north of $22 billion—was in talks with sovereign wealth funds in Abu Dhabi and the Qatar Investment Authority to raise funding to the tune of around $700 million. “The red flags in its FY21 earning reports spooked the investors,” says an edtech executive familiar with the matter, asking not to be named. “Talking about raising $300 million in a week is easy. Going out in the market with an earnings report like this and raising funds is the difficult part.” Meanwhile, the company is planning an internal investment round of up to $500 million, according to several people in the know; they differ widely on the exact amount. The fundraising will be a mix of primary (through a fresh equity issue) and secondary investment (in which existing shares change hands). “The internal round will be led by the existing big investors,” says a second edtech executive, …