Indian multinational educational technology company Byju's has paid $234 million (Rs.19 billion) to Blackstone Inc. to settle its dues owed to the private-equity firm while acquiring Aakash Educational under a $950 million deal.
Citing people familiar with the matter, Mint reported that the payment was made on Thursday, and it was for a stake of about 38 percent owned by Blackstone in the learning center chain.
While closing the deal with Aakash in April 2021, Byju's had paid all of Aakash's shareholders, except Blackstone, as it has agreed on a deferred payment method.
The settlement comes at a time when Byju's is facing the crisis of its lifetime, as its losses ballooned to $574 million in the financial year ended March 2021. During the same period, Byjy's also reported a revenue loss of 3 percent.
Meanwhile, Byju Raveendran, the founder of Byju's recently wrote a heartfelt letter to employees stating that the company is on the path to success, and there is nothing to worry about.
"While we struggled on the audit front, our business has been thriving, thanks to all of your efforts. The last financial year (FY22, ending March 2022) was our best year so far and 2022-23 is set to be an even stronger year," wrote Byju.
He added: "The comeback, as they say, is always stronger than the setback. Going forward in FY23 and beyond, we will combine growth with efficiency to ensure sustainability. We have already started shifting our focus towards profitable growth. The overall idea is to allocate resources effectively in order to maximize impact."
