The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday conducted searches at three premises of Byju's founder Byju Raveendran under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
"ED has conducted searches at 3 premises in Bengaluru in the case of Raveendaran Byju and his company 'Think & Learn Private Limited' (Byju online learning platform) under the provisions of FEMA," the probe agency said in a tweet.
During the search, various incriminating documents and digital data were seized, it said.
Meanwhile, the edtech company said the recent visit by officials from the Enforcement Directorate was related to a 'routine inquiry' under FEMA.
"We have been completely transparent with the authorities and have provided them with all the information they have requested. We have nothing but the utmost confidence in the integrity of our operations, and we are committed to upholding the highest standards of compliance and ethics. We will continue to work closely with the authorities to ensure that they have all the information they need, and we are confident that this matter will be resolved in a timely and satisfactory manner," a Byju's spokesperson told Fortune India.
The development comes months after India's most valued startup laid off 2,500 employees — around 5% of its workforce — in an effort to become profitable.
Valuation markdown
Byju's, which was once valued at $22 billion, went on an acquisition spree over the past few years. The edtech firm splurged $2.5 billion on acquisitions that included Aakash Educational Services (test prep specialist), the US-based Epic, Tynker (kids' coding platform), Great Learning (professional education firm) and Toppr (exam prep platform).
However, the world's biggest asset manager, BlackRock, which owns around 1% stake in Byju's, has reportedly slashed the valuation of the edtech major from $4,600 per share in April 2022 to $2,400 a share as of December-end 2022. Blackrock, which manages over $10 trillion in assets, had first entered Byju's roster of marquee investors at a $12-billion valuation in 2020. With the recent markdown, the valuation of the 2008 founded company has fallen nearly 50% from $22 billion to around $11.5 billion. However, the valuation is much more 'respectable' than what Naspers-owned Prosus had valued the Bengaluru-based startup last year. The South Africa-based new age tech focussed investor had pegged the fair value of its 9.67% stake in the edtech's parent, Think & Learn, at $578 million at the end of September quarter last year, valuing the company at $6 billion. Though the narrative spun around the markdown was that it was just an accounting treatment, valuing a unicorn's stake at its fair value is indicative of the mounting challenges for the company since its last raise of $250 million in October 2022.
Divya Gokulnath, co-founder of Byju's, had told Fortune India that the company would not be renewing its sports partnerships. The company, which has raised over $5 billion, has branding tie ups with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the International Cricket Council, and the Federation Internationale de Football Association.
