In yet another instance of valuation markdown for Byju’s, US-based Baron Capital has slashed the troubled edtech startup’s valuation by almost half, citing slowdown in its business and the resignation of its auditor Deloitte and three board members. The firm’s June quarte report showed that it has cut the valuation of Byju’s by 44.6%. This effectively values Byju’s under $12 billion. The Bengaluru-based firm was valued at $22 billion when it had raised $250 million from investors in October 2022.
“Think & Learn, the parent entity of Byju’s detracted during the quarter. Weak performance was driven by a marked slowdown in business momentum as Covid-related tailwinds that benefited online/digital education have begun to dissipate. In addition, Byju’s announced that Deloitte had resigned as its auditor and will be replaced by BDO. Three investors appointed board directors also resigned during the quarter. These developments were deemed as material adverse events that required the fair market value of our holdings to be adjusted” Baron Capital said.
“Think & Learn, the parent entity of Byju’s detracted during the quarter. Weak performance was driven by a marked slowdown in business momentum as Covid-related tailwinds that benefited online/digital education have begun to dissipate. In addition, Byju’s announced that Deloitte had resigned as its auditor and will be replaced by BDO. Three investors appointed board directors also resigned during the quarter. These developments were deemed as material adverse events that required the fair market value of our holdings to be adjusted” Baron Capital said.
