Byju’s to sell Epic, Great Learning to repay $1.2 bn loan

livemint.com:

MUMBAI : Byju’s has put up kids’ reading platform Epic and higher education platform Great Learning for sale, three people aware of the development said, as the edtech giant tries to raise money and pay off a $1.2 billion loan it raised in November 2021. The sale will also help Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd, which runs Byju’s, weed out businesses that it does not consider central to its long-term goals, the people said on condition of anonymity.

The two assets may together fetch Byju’s around $800 million to $1 billion, which will be used to advance the repayment of its outstanding term loan B (TLB), one of the two people said. Byju’s had paid around $800 million to acquire Epic! Creations Inc. and Great Learning Education Pte.

in a mix of equity and cash at the peak of the startup boom in 2021. The cost excludes milestone-based payments, which have not materialized. “It (Byju’s) also won’t be a Mongol empire anymore.

It won’t be a large and unwieldy group," the person said. A Wall Street investment bank is arranging the sale of Epic, the person said, adding Byju’s has already received a few term sheets and expects to earn around $400-$550 million for the reading platform. Epic is likely to be sold first, the people said, declining to name the potential buyers.

“There will be some profit, maybe not a large one," the first person added, on both assets. At the time of the purchase, Byju’s intended to build an edtech empire across a student’s entire education cycle—including K12 (Kindergarten to year 12), test preparation, coding and extracurricular activities and professional upskilling. As the edtech boom cooled with the waning of the pandemic, the company will now attempt to reduce debt, focusing on K-12 and offline businesses