Abu Dhabi based 10XAD In Talks With Byju's As It Seeks $600M In Funding

Abu Dhabi-based 10X AD is in talks with Byju’s CEO Byju Raveendran about investing in the parent firm Think and Learn Pvt Ltd or its arm Aakash Education Services (AES) as the edtech business looks to raise at least $400-600 million from investors, said people in the know.

10X AD is a fund pool that specialises in structured investments in late-stage technology companies. It’s not clear if 10X AD will lead an investor consortium of family offices and ultra-high net-worth individuals in Abu Dhabi or go it alone and invest $150-200 million as the Bengaluru-based company strives to turn a corner after being under scrutiny for more than 18 months over corporate governance, audit lapses, business practices, poor financial results and mass layoffs.

Byju’s has also approached Apollo Global Management, a leading US private equity and alternative asset management group, for a $200-250 million structured funding for Aakash. This may be either at a discount to the next round or via a preferred instrument with a fixed pre-agreed internal rate of return (IRR) and downside protection. Byju’s initial approach to Apollo to join the parent’s cap table had been rebuffed.

Aakash, which runs a chain of physical coaching centres, has done well, growing the business at 40-50% CAGR, experts said. The industry expects Aakash to have clocked $430 million revenue in FY23, up from $250 million in the previous year, and be Ebitda positive. Byju’s spokesperson, 10X AD, Disrupt AD and Apollo did not respond to queries. There is no guarantee that the discussions will lead to any result. Audited numbers for FY22 and FY23 have still not been made public or signed off on, said people with knowledge of the matter.