$493 mn loss: Prosus writes off entire Byju's investment

Investment firm Prosus has written off the value of its 9.6 per cent stake in edtech company Byju.

- PEERZADA ABRAR

This is perhaps one of the biggest writeoffs in tech startups by a marquee investor.

Prosus recorded a fair value loss of $493 million on account of its investment in the company, the Dutch tech investor said in its FY24 annual report on June 24.

"In this financial year, the group wrote off the fair value of its 9.6 per cent effective interest in Byju's, due to the significant drop in value for equity investors. A fair value loss of $493 million was recognised in other comprehensive income in the current year," said Prosus in its annual report.

The firm had put $536 million in Byju's across multiple rounds since 2019 for its stake. "We impaired Byju's down to zero at the end of FY24. The fair value written down was $493 million for FY24," said a Prosus spokesperson.

"We have written down Byju's primarily because we have inadequate information on the company's financial health, liabilities, and future outlook," the Prosus spokesperson said in response to a query.

An industry person in the know said: "We have seen several writedowns and writeoffs but not of such value."