India’s Byju’s buys offline tutor Aakash for $1 bn

Indian online learning giant Byju’s is looking to further consolidate its leadership position in the education space and accelerate its offline growth.

The country’s most expensively valued education technology startup has closed the deal to acquire exam preparation firm Aakash Educational Services Limited for nearly $1 billion, multiple media outlets report.

Aakash is backed by private equity firm Blackstone and owns more than 200 physical tutoring outlets across the country that cater to students preparing to qualify for top engineering and medical colleges. It has been in the market for over 33 years and serves over 250,000 high-school students.

Regarding the acquisition, Byju’s founder, CEO Byju Raveendran, said, “Our complementary strengths will enable us to build capabilities, create engaging and personalized learning programs. The future of learning is hybrid and this union will bring together the best of offline and online learning, as we combine our expertise to create impactful experiences for students.”

Aakash Managing Director and co-promoter Aakash Chaudhry said, “Students who have wanted to access physical classrooms have gotten that from us. And those who wanted to access content and learning online have been served by Byju’s. Together, we will leverage the physical location and technology and online learning.”