Indian edtech giant Baiju is engaging with bankers to plan an initial public offering of physical tutoring chain unit Aakash, which it acquired last year, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrush.
The Bengaluru-headquartered company is looking to raise between $800 million and $1 billion in an initial public offering for Akash at a valuation of more than $3.5 billion, the source said, requesting anonymity because the details are private. The startup may file for an IPO as early as February, the source said.
The talks are still at an early stage, so the terms of the deal could change or be abandoned altogether, the source warned. Byju and its founder Byju Raveendran did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Baiju last year raised nearly $1 billion in Aakash’s IPO plan, when the group company postponed its own listing plan amid the global market slump.
Baiju earlier this year valued an IPO via SPAC route at $40 billion, but changed its plans after the market reversed most of the gains from the past 13 years of bull runs.
Ravendran told TechCrunch in an earlier interview that Baiju would likely file for an IPO in nine to 12 months while closely monitoring macro market conditions. “I don’t think the markets will turn this year,” he said at the time.
Baiju, India’s most valuable startup at $22 billion, has spent more than $2 billion over the past two years to acquire nearly a dozen firms, mostly outside the South Asian market, ramping up its offerings in the US and Europe. With the group’s IPO more than a year away, the startup has raised nearly $1 billion this year. Last month, it announced the final part of its $250 million fundraising round. That investment was raised in a convertible note, at a valuation of roughly $22 billion, another source familiar with the matter said.
The startup has cut its marketing budget and several other expenses in recent months in an effort to become profitable by the end of the current financial year. Baijum recently said it would cut up to 2,500 jobs in the coming months.
Another reason Baiju is considering listing Aakash on Indian stock exchanges is concern about consumer perception of its Indian unit in global markets, said a person familiar with the matter.
Akash, 34, runs fitness centers across India. Before the purchase, the company planned to be listed in the country. Akash, which has been profitable for years, is on track to post revenue of over $500 million in the 2024 financial year at a margin of 25%, a person familiar with the matter said.
