Byju’s buys Toppr, Great Learning in $750 mn deal

• ByStartupStory     |    July 26, 2021

Edtech unicorn and India’s most valuable startup Byju’s buys Toppr, Great Learning in $750 mn deal. With this, Byju’s has acquired six startups in 2021, across India and the US.

Byju’s is expected to shell out $600 million to acquire Great Learning and another $150 million for the acquisition of Toppr, said an individual close to the discussions. With this, Byju’s has shelled out more than $2.2 billion in acquiring complementary businesses in 2021 alone. The edtech startup will, with the acquisition of Great Learning, enter the upskilling and reskilling segment, which already sees heavy competition from upGrad and Blackstone-backed Simplilearn.The acquisition is also expected to increase Byju’s offerings for the international markets.Seven-year old Great Learning provides higher learning degree, diploma and certificate courses across domains such as data science, digital marketing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, in association with recognised universities globally.

The edtech startup will, with the acquisition of Great Learning, enter the upskilling and reskilling segment, which already sees heavy competition from upGrad and Blackstone-backed Simplilearn. The acquisition is also expected to increase Byju’s offerings for the international markets. Seven-year old Great Learning provides higher learning degree, diploma and certificate courses across domains such as data science, digital marketing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, in association with recognised universities globally. According to regulatory filings, through a share swap, Great Learning’s existing shareholders LMK Holdings Ltd and Matrix Benefit Trust have been allotted Byju’s Series F preference shares worth ₹733.1 crore (or roughly $98 million). Byju’s will in exchange acquire 2.583 million ordinary shares in Great Learning Education Pte Ltd, filings show.

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