1. Byju’s founder took loan to invest $400 million in edtech giant
Byju Raveendran, founder and chief executive of the eponymous edtech giant, has financed his recent $400 million investment in Byju’s through a debt he raised from multiple international banks, two sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.
On Friday, the startup announced it has raised $800 million in a new financing round, half of which it said was bankrolled by the founder.
The revelation immediately created buzz in the market as it’s very rare to see a founder invest in a startup that is about to file for an IPO, let alone do that at a $22 billion valuation, as is the case with Raveendran and Byju’s.
Making things more interesting is the fact that Raveendran, who taught students before starting Byju’s, has not sold any shares in the startup in several years to build a liquidated personal wealth big enough to carry such a deal.
Byju’s founder took loan to invest $400 million in edtech giant
2. Zomato to acquire Blinkit in stock deal
Zomato Ltd is set to take control of Blinkit after the food aggregator extended a $150 million emergency loan facility to the quick commerce startup, two people familiar with the deal said.
The transaction involves an all-stock deal that values Blinkit between $700 million and $800 million, the people said on condition of anonymity. The deal value is significantly lower than the unicorn status Blinkit achieved after getting more than $120 million from Zomato and investor Tiger Global Management, Mint reported in August. Zomato owns about 10% of Blinkit.
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