Byju's Valuation Slashed Again By BlackRock To $8.4 Billion
The second markdown by BlackRock comes at a time when the edtech company failed to set out on a path to profitability.
U.S.-based investment fund BlackRock Inc. has marked down the value of its investments in Byju's again.
BlackRock is a minority investor in Byju's, with about 0.7% stake and has parked shares in various funds it operates. One such fund, BlackRock Capital Allocation Trust, pegged the value of 2,279 shares of Think & Learn Pvt.—the parent company of Byju's—at around $10.7 million in March 2022.
The same shares are now valued at $4.04 million, a 62% cut. This translates to an enterprise valuation of $8.4 billion, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Earlier this year, BlackRock had already halved the valuation of the Byju Raveendran-led edtech firm to $11.3 billion. At its peak, Byju's was valued at about $24 billion.
Recently, the company said it has raised $250 million in fresh funding. Though it didn't specify the valuation, it is widely reported that the funds came in at a $22 billion valuation.
The second markdown by BlackRock comes at a time when the edtech company failed to set out on a path to profitability. It also cut about 2,500 jobs in October, as part of efforts to reduce costs and put out a statement saying it has "embarked on a path to achieve group-level profitability" by March 2023.
Byju's is among several Indian startups—such as Ola, Meesho and PharmEasy—that have seen their valuations plummet.