The leading Edtech firm Byju’s on last week announced about its acquisition of the Mumbai based Edtech startup WhiteHat Jr by Karan Bajaj for cash deal of $300 million. The WhiteHat Jr, which is an 18-month old startup is made for children ranging from age 6 to 18. The focus is on teaching young kids to program and then encourage to create applications, games, animations.
It was a few weeks ago was Karan Bajaj, founder of the startup received a WhatsApp message from Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO of Byju’s and the next day the $300 million deal was chalked out. Byju Raveendran in his statement said, under the leadership of Karan the company has made a phenomenal growth in India and the US in a short period and is the leading online space for coding for young kids.
The entire deal was made in six weeks and signed virtually, they did a zoom call and aligned the deal within a day. The young venture made a quick exit with an all-cash deal of $300 million and Bajaj made a sweet fortune being one of the major shareholders of the startup. Karan Bajaj the Founder and former Indian CEO of Discovery Networks will continue to lead and scale the business in India and the US.
Buju’s plan for significant investments in WhiteHat Jr after the acquisition, also to serve the demand from the new markets, the innovation of product and expansion of teacher base is also under consideration. This acquisition will also enable to accelerate Byju’s plans for US expansion.
Bajaj said, though the company had revenue of $150 million and was experiencing faster growth rate, the deal of $300 million was found to be a great deal because the company is still very young and hasn’t faced many ups and downs. considering all these he felt it to be an attractive offer. The investors received an excellent return and employees who held stocks got a good deal.
Some reports said that Bajaj received many offers for investments, acquisitions but Bajaj felt the vision fit with Byju’s and did not negotiate further for a better deal. This acquisition is a big benefit to both companies. Now they Byju’s and WhiteHat Jr are gearing up for launch in six new countries.
