Byju’s sells Epic and Tynker for $97.2 million after buying them for $700 million

Once called as India’s most valuable startup, Byju’s is now selling its U.S. assets for a fraction of their original price as bankruptcy proceedings unfold in Delaware. The latest fire-sale acquisition was confirmed on May 30, when Chicago-based computer science education firm CodeHS closed its $2.2 million cash purchase of Tynker, a kids coding platform that Byju’s had acquired for nearly $200 million in 2021.

According to media reports, the auction was conducted under the supervision of U.S. bankruptcy court judge Brendan Shannon, who also approved a separate sale involving Byju’s largest U.S. subsidiary, reading platform Epic!, to China’s TAL Education Group for $95 million. That acquisition, part of the same bankruptcy process, followed what court documents described as a last-minute “fire drill” after the U.S. Department of Justice raised potential concerns about foreign investment scrutiny under the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) framework.

These selloffs are intended to help recover a portion of the $1.2 billion term loan that Byju’s raised from U.S. lenders in 2021 to fund its global expansion. That loan, routed through a special-purpose vehicle called Byju’s Alpha, is now at the center of a web of lawsuits, allegations of fraudulent transfers, and director misconduct.

The sale price, however, starkly contrasts with the $200 million Byju’s paid in cash and stock to acquire Tynker three years ago. At the time, the edtech giant was rapidly consolidating online learning assets amid soaring pandemic-era demand. The company’s $500 million acquisition of Epic! was its second-largest overseas buy after its $1 billion purchase of Aakash Institute in India, completed around the same period.

Osmo, an educational gaming company acquired by Byju’s for $120 million in 2019, has also been put up for auction, though it has yet to attract a buyer, reports said. Once valued at $22 billion and backed by prominent global investors, the company is now in retreat on multiple fronts — facing insolvency petitions, legal investigations, and a crisis of governance.