BYJU’S, the world’s leading education-tech company has announced its strategic partnership with Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL). According to sources, the deal is worth close to USD 1 billion (about 7,300 crores) — making it the biggest acquisition by Byju’s to date.
India’s biggest online-education startup Byju’s on Monday said that it has acquired brick & mortar test prep leader Aakash Educational Services Ltd through a strategic merger. Bjyu’s added that it will make further investments to accelerate Aakash’s growth. Post-acquisition, Aakash Educational Services will continue to function independently under the leadership of Founder JC Chaudhry and Aakash Chaudhry.
Byju Raveendran said, “I am happy to have Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL), a market leader and the most trusted name in the test prep services, on board with us. Our complementary strengths will enable us to build capabilities, create engaging and personalized learning programs. The future of learning is hybrid and this union will bring together the best of offline and online learning, as we combine our expertise to create impactful experiences for students.”
India’s second-most valuable startup is backed by the likes of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Tiger Global Management and Bond Capital, co-founded by Silicon Valley investor Mary Meeker.
Aakash Chaudhry, Managing Director and Co-promoter of Aakash Educational, said the two firms joining forces will offer “Very substantial and value-additive services to students.” The leadership at Aakash Educational will stay with the firm after the acquisition.
The acquisition will enable the two entities to build the largest omni-channel for students in India, he said. “Students who have wanted to access physical classrooms have gotten that from us. And those who wanted to access content and learning online has been served by Byju’s. Together, we will leverage the physical location and technology and online learning and offer students that is unique,” he said.
