Byju’s acquires US-based Epic for $500 mn; eyes further acquisitions
26 Jul 2021
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Byju’s has taken over California-based reading platform Epic in a $500 million cash and stock deal as the edtech company continues its acquisition spree, after its acquisition of Aakash Educational Services, Scholr and HashLearns.
This is the second-biggest acquisition by Bengaluru-based Byju’s after its $1 billion acquisition of Aakash. Byju’s did not provide further details of the cash-and-stock deal.
The acquisition will help Byju’s to expand its presence in the US as Epic provides access to its two million teachers and 50 million user base, the company stated in a press release.
Byju’s said it has plans to invest a further $1 billion in the US market as part of its overseas thrust. The edutech major had announced plans to expand in international markets with a one-to-one learning platform called ‘Byju’s Future School’ under the leadership of WhiteHat Jr’s founder Karan Bajaj. Byju’s had acquired WhiteHat Jr in 2020.
While Byju’s has already a presence in the US after the acquisition of Osmo in 2019, it plans to launch its new one-to-one learning platform in the US, UK, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico by May, with plans to expand to more countries in the near future.
In March 2021, Byju’s had claimed that it generated $1 billion in revenue in the US. According to Byju’s valuation report, Osmo, which was acquired for $120 million in September last year, is currently valued at $727 million, which shows that the company’s international markets are expanding.
Seven-year-old Epic is like the Netflix for books with a collection of more than 40,000 popular books from hundreds of notable publishers. Since its inception, Epic has raised about $60 million from Creative Artists Agency, Evolution Media and Reach Capital.
In the past one and half years, top edtech companies have made over a dozen acquisitions, even as the process continues. Byju’s is in talks to acquire Toppr, Great Learning and Gradeup as well.
Rival Unacademy had bought Handa Ka Funda, TapChief, NeoStencil, PrepLadder, Mastree, CodeChef, Coursavy and Kreatryx, since January 2020. The Gaurav Munjal-led company is also acquiring two more start-ups - Rheo TV and Adda 24×7.
