 "Byju's")
BlackRock has once again cut the valuation of its holding in the Bengaluru-based startup Byju's to about $8.4 billion, according to a report by TechCrunch.
BlackRock joined Byju's cap table at a $12-billion valuation in 2020. In April 2022, BlackRock valued Byju's shares at about $4,660 per unit. This translated into a company valuation of about $22 billion. However, BlackRock marked down the value of its shares in Byju's to $2,400 per share at the end of December 2022.
In April, BlackRock reportedly reduced the valuation of Byju's by about 50 per cent to $11.5 billion from $22 billion.
However, Byju's recently secured $250 million in fresh funding at a valuation cap of $22 billion. This indicates that other investors still value the startup more than BlackRock.
It is important to note that BlackRock is not a substantial stakeholder in Byju's, and owns less than 1 per cent equity in the startup.
This price adjustment move by BlackRock is the latest in a series of valuation markdowns for Indian startups. Invesco cut the valuation of Swiggy by half recently. Pine Labs and Pharmeasy saw their values being cut by some investors.
