Prosus, considered one of Byju’s largest traders, stated on Monday it believes its stake within the Indian training expertise startup is now nugatory however stays hopeful that what was as soon as essentially the most worthwhile Indian startup might be saved.
Prosus, Byju’s’ largest exterior investor with a 9.6% stake, stated in its quarterly report that its stake within the startup is now value zero “as a result of a big decline in worth for fairness traders.” Prosus Group chief data officer Erwin Tu stated on an earnings name that the corporate stays hopeful about Byju’s prospects, however bettering governance on the Indian firm will probably be key.
The Indian edtech big has had a troublesome time lately, going through a sequence of economic and governance setbacks which have broken its repute and jeopardized its future. The startup’s woes deepened final 12 months when it didn’t file monetary reviews on time and in the end reported income effectively under its personal expectations.
The sudden departures of auditors and board members, together with high Prosus executives, exacerbated the monetary woes and scuppered a possible $1 billion financing plan. In a determined bid for capital, the startup raised $200 million this 12 months at a considerably decrease valuation of about $225 million to $250 million. The lifeline has additionally been embroiled in authorized disputes with a few of Byju’s largest backers, together with Prosus.
Prosus, whose portfolio consists of well-known firms resembling Tencent, Supply Hero, Swiggy and Stack Overflow, has invested greater than $570 million in Byju’s through the years. It has by no means bought any shares within the Indian edtech startup, whose valuation climbed to a peak of $22 billion in early 2022. to $498 million.
Prosus has additionally reduce the worth of different investments: It decreased the worth of its stake in Stack Overflow, which it acquired for $1.8 billion in 2021, by 39%, and decreased the worth of its stake in Indian on-line pharmacy PharmEasy by 35%.
The corporate’s rebalancing of Byju’s stake comes after BerRock, the world’s largest asset supervisor, additionally canceled its stake within the Indian edtech startup. Prosus complained final 12 months that Byju’s “routinely ignored” its recommendation.
