BlackRock cuts Byju’s valuation by 95% to $1 billion

BlackRock has cut the value of its holding in Byju’s, slashing the implied valuation of the Indian startup to $1 billion from $22 billion in early 2022, according to disclosures made by the asset manager. At the end of October last year, BlackRock said it valued Byju’s shares at about $209.6 apiece, down from the peak of $4,660 in 2022.

The asset manager, like other mutual fund investors, makes multiple disclosures about its portfolio in a year, but doesn’t explain its rationale behind any valuation adjustments. Its new valuation adjustment hasn’t been previously reported. BlackRock, which owns less than 1% of Byju’s, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Byju’s declined to comment. This isn’t the first time BlackRock has cut the worth of its holding in Byju’s — and BlackRock isn’t the only investor that has severely downgraded how they value Byju’s, but the new adjustment is by far the most drastic. Prosus, which owns about 9% in Byju’s, said late last year that it valued Byju’s at “ sub $3 billion .” At $22 billion, Byju’s ranked as India’s most valuable startup.

The valuation markdown is a stunning reversal in fortune for Byju’s, once the poster child of the Indian startup ecosystem. The startup, which spent more than $2.5 billion in 2021 and 2022 acquiring over half a dozen firms globally, was once showered a valuation as high as $50 billion by marquee investment bankers, TechCrunch earlier reported.

More to follow..