Edtech agency upGrad has signed a time period sheet to accumulate rival Unacademy in a 100% share-swap transaction, signalling a possible consolidation transfer in India’s struggling on-line schooling sector.
“We at upGrad have signed a time period sheet to accumulate Unacademy in an all-stock deal, with Founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal staying on to construct Unacademy and give attention to what it does finest,” upGrad chairman Ronnie Screwvala mentioned in a submit on X on Sunday.
The businesses have additionally agreed on a break charge if the deal doesn’t shut, he added.
Unacademy co-founder and chief govt Gaurav Munjal additionally confirmed the event, saying, “Unacademy and upGrad have signed a time period sheet for upGrad to accumulate Unacademy in a 100% share swap deal.”
He added that neither facet would disclose the valuation till the transaction closes.
The event comes months after earlier acquisition talks between the 2 corporations collapsed in January. In November, upGrad had proposed a share-swap deal valuing Unacademy at about $300–400 million, sharply under its $3.4 billion peak valuation in 2021.
The deal brings collectively two of India’s most distinguished edtech platforms at a time when the sector is grappling with slower progress and tighter capital availability.
Munjal mentioned he would proceed to guide Unacademy following the transaction. “I shall be staying again as co-founder and CEO of Unacademy with the aim to construct nice on-line merchandise for learners in India and globally,” he wrote.
Over the previous 12 months, the corporate has undertaken a number of operational modifications, together with consolidating company-operated offline centres with franchise companions and pivoting again to on-line schooling merchandise. Munjal additionally mentioned the agency accomplished a ₹50 crore ESOP buyback, introduced final month.
Munjal added that the corporate’s AI-led language studying product Airlearn is gaining traction internationally.
Earlier plans to hive off Airlearn as a separate entity have additionally been dropped, with the product now being developed inside Unacademy and anticipated to function throughout the broader upGrad ecosystem if the deal closes. “Our money reserves as of right this moment are greater than $100 million,” Munjal added.
The Temasek-backed Unacademy has confronted a tough interval over the previous two years, with a number of sale discussions failing amid a widening hole in valuation expectations.