Byju’s to acquire Aakash Educational Services in nearly $1-billion deal

Byju’s is acquiring tutorial chain Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL) in a cash and stock deal estimated at $950 million, sealing its largest buyout. India’s most-valued edtech startup snagged coding tutor WhiteHatJr in a $300-million deal amid the pandemic last year.

Byju’s buyout of AESL is also among the largest acquisitions by an Indian startup — bigger than Snapdeal’s purchase of Freecharge for $400 million in 2015 and Flipkart’s acquisition of Myntra for an estimated $330 million in 2014.

The startup’s founder, Byju Raveendran, told ET that Aakash Educational Services’s founders and its primary backer, the Blackstone Group, will both hold a minority stake in Byju’s.