According to a report, Byju’s promoters sold shares worth $408 million since 2015

According to market intelligence platform PrivateCircle Research, the promoters’ shareholding in edtech company Byju has been gradually decreasing since 2016, with the first significant drop occurring between 2015 and 2016 when the promoters’ stake dropped from 71.6% to 54.7%, and then to 34.7% in 2019 and 21.3% in 2023.

Since 2015, promoters Byju Raveendran, Divya Gokulnath, and Riju Ravedran have sold approximately $408.53 million worth of shares in 40 secondary transactions. While CEO and co-founder Byju Raveendran sold 29,306 shares valued at $3.28 million, his wife and co-founder Divya Gokulnath sold 64,565 shares valued at $29.40 million, and his brother Riju Ravindran sold 337,911 shares valued at $375.83 million.

According to the report, secondary transactions were frequently executed at a discount to the company’s primary valuation at the time. During its Series F secondary sales, an average discount of 53 percent was observed.

During this round, Byju’s promoters sold their shares for between Rs 1,12,126 and Rs 1,64,000 per share, while the price range for Series F primary shares was between Rs 2,13,042 and Rs 2,37,336. Multiple investors, including Silver Lake Partners, Blackrock, T Rowe Price, Chan Zuckerberg, Owl Ventures, Naspers, General Atlantic, and Alkeon, have participated in Byju’s secondary transactions over the years.

The tech company has been facing multiple challenges, and since 2012, Byju Raveendran has purchased a total of 31,960 shares from multiple sellers, including Ravindran Kunnaruvath (Byju Raveendran’s father), Arunangshu Bhakta (Byju’s employee), Brijesh Maheshbhai Patel (Byju’s employee), Smit Rajanikant Patel (Byju’s employee), Unique Jain (Byju’s employee), and Pravin Prakash (Byju’s employee), according to an analysis by Privat-eCircle Research.