Byju’s offers to buy US-listed edtech firm 2U for over $1 billion
Online-education provider Byju’s has offered to buy 2U in a cash deal that values the US-listed edtech company at over $1 billion, a person familiar with the matter said.
Byju’s made the offer of about $15 a share to 2U’s board last week, said the person, who asked not to be named as the bid isn’t yet public. The offer represents a 61 per cent premium to 2U’s closing price of $9.30 on the Nasdaq on Tuesday and gives the Lanham, Maryland-based company an enterprise value of about $2 billion.
Byju’s, one of the world’s most valuable start-ups with backing from Tiger Global Management and Mark Zuckerberg’s Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, is accelerating its expansion globally through acquisitions. Bloomberg reported in May that Byju’s was likely to bid for either 2U or Chegg.