Prosus writes off $22 billion Indian edtech giant Byju’s

Prosus, a giant investor in Byju’s, says its share within the Indian edtech startup is now value nothing, however it’s nonetheless hopeful that the once-most invaluable Indian startup will be salvaged.

Prosus, the most important exterior investor in Byju’s with a 9.6% stake, wrote off the startup “because of the vital lower in worth for fairness traders,” it disclosed in its earnings report Monday. Prosus’s Group CIO Erwin Tu stated on an earnings name that the agency remains to be hopeful about Byju’s outlook however the important thing to get there may be enhancing governance on the Indian agency.

The once-celebrated Indian edtech big has fallen on exhausting instances, grappling with a collection of economic and governance setbacks which have tarnished its fame and imperilled its future. The startup’s woes amplified final 12 months when it failed to fulfill monetary reporting deadlines and in the end reported revenues lower than half of what it had projected.

The monetary stumble — compounded by the sudden departures of its auditor and board members, together with a Prosus govt — scuttled a possible $1 billion fundraising effort, TechCrunch beforehand reported. In a determined bid for capital, the startup raised a $200 million funding this 12 months, however at a drastically lowered valuation of about $225-$250 million. This lifeline has since turn out to be entangled in authorized disputes with a few of Byju’s largest backers, together with Prosus.

Prosus — whose high-profile bets embrace Tencent, Supply Hero, Swiggy and Stack Overflow — has invested about $500 million in Byju’s through the years. It by no means bought any share within the Indian edtech startup, whose valuation climbed to as excessive as $22 billion early final 12 months. Prosus stated the truthful worth written down for Byju’s in FY24 was $498 million.

Prosus additionally reported worth drops in different investments. Stack Overflow, purchased for $1.8 billion, noticed a 39% markdown. The group’s stake value in Indian on-line pharmacy PharmEasy decreased by 35%, Prosus reported.

The agency’s readjustment of Byju’s stake follows BlackRock, the world’s largest asset supervisor, additionally recently writing off its stake in the Indian edtech startup. Prosus final 12 months complained that the Indian embattled startup had “recurrently disregarded recommendation” from it.