BENGALURU: Edtech giant Byju’s, which is valued at $21 billion, is mulling a dual listing. Apart from listing in the US through the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) route, the company also plans an IPO in the Indian market.
Sources familiar with the development confirmed that the company is considering a secondary listing in 2022. “But nothing has been finalised yet,” sources said.
SPAC or a blank-cheque is quite popular in the US. A SPAC is created to pool funds for a merger or acquisition opportunity.
Recently, renewable energy firm ReNew Power got listed on the Nasdaq through the SPAC route. Byju’s is following the same route and has plans to merge with Churchill Capital’s SPAC.
Michael Klein is the founder of Churchill Capital and he is also the founder and managing partner of M. Klein and Company, a global strategic advisory firm. Churchill Capital has offered to invest $4 billion, thereby taking Byju’s valuation over $48 billion.
Many companies such as Paytm, Nykaa and Zomato have gone public in 2021. For long, Byju’s has been talking about going public.
Byju’s is backed by Tiger Global, Chan-Zuckerbeg Iniitiative (CZI), Sequoia Capital India, Bond, Silver Lake, BlackRock, Tencent and Naspers Ventures, among others.
Founded in 2011 by Byju Raveendran, the firm became the first Asian company to receive investment from CZI in 2016.
The edtech firm has gained significantly during Covid-19 pandemic with the shift to online education. Its revenues in 2019-20 stood at over Rs 2,300 crore. Its recent acquisition was coding platform Tynker.