BYJUS's, which is touted as biggest edtech firm in the world, has reportedly signed a deal to acquire brick & mortar medical test preparation provider Aakash Educational Services Ltd. for $1 billion, according to a report by Business Standard which cited a person with knowledge of the talks.
Citing a source privy to the advancements, the report further said that the acquisition deal should close in the next two or three months and if materialized, it will be one of the largest edtech acquisitions in the world.
Aakash Educational Services runs Aakash Institute with over 200 brick and mortar centers accross India. It offer preparation to students for entrance-exams of the country’s elite engineering and medical schools. Its student count is over 250,000, according to its website.
Last year in January, Aakash Educational Services Acquires Meritnation's Parent firm, Applect Learning Systems, for Rs 100 Crore and in the same month earlier, Info Edge (India) Ltd sold its total shareholding in Applect Learning Systems to Aakash Educational Services for Rs 50 crore.
Bangalore-headquartered Byju’s is valued at $12 billion and has been on a fund-raising spree as the pandemic has sent demand for its online lessons soaring. 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.
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