Tech investor Prosus has downgraded its valuation of Bujy's, in which the former owns a stake, valuing the company at less than $3 billion, down significantly from the previous official valuation for the Bengaluru-based firm.
In October 2022, in what marked a peak for Byju's, it was valued at more than $22 billion, when it raised a $250 million funding round. Prosus' valuation of Byju's, therefore, represents an 86% decline from what the edtech major was previously valued at, officially.
Prosus interim CEO Ervin Tu disclosed the investor's latest valuation of Byju's, doing so during a conference call. The Amsterdam-based global investment group has a 9.6% stake in Byju's.
Also, the latest development marks the second instance this year of Prosus downsizing the value of its stake in the Byju Raveendran-founded startup, which is simultaneously mired in multiple controversies. In June, the investment group announced a valuation of $493 million for its 9.6% stake in Byju's for financial year ending March, while, in contrast, in November last year, it valued the latter at $5.97 billion.
Also, in July, Prosus representative on Byju's board, Russell Dreisenstock, resigned; he cited ‘poor’ reporting, as well as governance structures, as the reasons behind his exit.
{{/usCountry}}Also, in July, Prosus representative on Byju's board, Russell Dreisenstock, resigned; he cited ‘poor’ reporting, as well as governance structures, as the reasons behind his exit.
{{/usCountry}}"Despite repeated efforts from our director (Dreisenstock), executive leadership at Byju's regularly disregarded advice and recommendations relating to strategic, operational, legal, and corporate governance matters," Prosus said in a statement then, though it added it will ‘continue to assert our rights as a shareholder.’
A Byju's spokesperson, in response, said: ""We have noted the observations of our valued investors. We have updated our shareholders about definitive steps taken to improve corporate governance and financial reporting".