BYJU’S in talks to buy WhiteHat Jr in $300mn deal — Report

New Delhi, July 4 (IANS): Think and Learn, the parent company of Bengaluru-based edtech unicorn BYJU’S, is in talks to acquire Mumbai-based startup WhiteHat Jr, media reports said.

Mumbai-based WhiteHat Jr was founded by former Discovery Networks India CEO Karan Bajaj in November 2018 and is backed by Nexus Venture Partners, Omidyar Network India and Owl Ventures.

Online learning platform Unacademy had also made a bid to acquire WhiteHat Jr but BYJU’S has offered a better deal, Moneycontrol reported on Friday, citing sources.

According to a report in The Economic Times on the same day, BYJU’S made a $300 million all-cash offer to buy WhiteHat Jr.

Neither BYJU’S, not WhiteHat Jr have confirmed the talks. An email sent to BYJU’s elicit no response.

The talks of the acquisition come at a time when WhiteHat Jr is already reportedly looking to raise $50 million in fresh financing.

The company raised $10 million funding in Series A last September.

Whitehat Jr last month said it had reached a $50 million annual revenue run rate within 15 months of going live while utilising only a fraction of the $11 million cumulative funding raised.

They are aggressively hiring even amidst the downturn and month-on-month growth has accelerated to 100 per cent, which was earlier 40 per cent before the lockdown.

The company recently launched a pilot program in the US.

WhiteHat Jr’s core business is to provide a platform that connects students and teachers on a one-on-one basis, where teachers conduct online live coding classes for the kids.

BYJU’S last week announced a new round of funding from BOND, the global technology investment firm led by investor Mary Meeker.

The company, however, did not disclose the transaction details.