UpGrad is in talks to acquire Unacademy in a deal valuing the test-prep platform at $300–400 million, according to Moneycontrol. As per the report a term sheet could be signed in three weeks.
Financialexpress.com couldn’t verify the news independently.
According to the Moneycontrol report, the potential valuation represents a sharp drop from Unacademy’s last publicly known valuation of $3.44 billion back in 2021.
What’s the deal is about?
As per the Moneycontrol report, Unacademy’s language-learning app, AirLearn, will be spun off into a separate entity as part of the deal. UpGrad will acquire only the core test-prep business, including its offline learning centres and will not hold any equity in AirLearn.
Unacademy is currently an attractive buy as it currently holds about Rs 1,200 crore in cash reserves, as per the report. The company has sharply reduced its cash burn in three months from a peak of over Rs 1,000 crore annually to around Rs 100 crore now.
Founders may step back from daily operations: Report
As per Moneycontrol, the talks come months after Unacademy’s founders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini were reportedly planning to step back from day-to-day operations and spin off AirLearn as a standalone venture.
Unacademy is a Bangalore-based Indian ed-tech company founded in 2015 by Gaurav Munjal, Roman Saini, and Hemesh Singh. In 2020, the company raised $150 million in funding led by SoftBank, achieving a unicorn valuation.
upGrad is a leading South Asian ed-tech company founded in 2015, which offers online degree and certification programs in different fields.
