Three years after he joined the billionaires’ club, Indian edtech entrepreneur Byju Raveendran has dropped out of that elite ranking, thanks to a series of missteps. Netherlands-based Prosus, formerly Naspers, disclosed recently that it had written down its 9.6% stake in Byju’s to $493 million (as of March 31). The markdown effectively values Raveendran’s edtech firm at $5.1 billion, a steep 77% discount to last year’s peak valuation of $22 billion.
Consequently, Raveendran’s 18% stake is now valued at under $1 billion, but after accounting for the loans he took last year to invest in Byju’s, his personal net worth is estimated at $475 million. That’s a far cry from Raveendran’s net worth of $1.8 billion in 2020, when he debuted on Forbes’ World Billionaires list and his firm was valued at $10 billion. In two years, his fortune had doubled to $3.6 billion—until things began to fray.The company has already cut thousands of jobs. It is seeking to raise more than a billion dollars to tide over financial difficulties. Last month, Raveendran admitted his past mistakes and assured shareholders that his learnings far outweigh any missteps. Earlier, audit firm Deloitte resigned with immediate effect as auditors of BYJU'S. It cited a delay in submitting financial statements. Three of BYJU'S board members resigned which indicated the deepening of the crisis at the firm. The company is currently grappling with the repayment of a $1.2 billion loan.