Indian Healthcare Billionaire Ranjan Pai Bets $170 Million On Beleaguered Edtech Firm Byju’s Test-Prep Unit

Indian billionaire Ranjan Pai, who pocketed close to $1 billion from selling part of his stake in hospital chain Manipal Health Enterprises to Singapore’s Temasek, has just placed a contrarian bet. On Friday, Pai agreed to invest $170 million in Aakash Educational Services, an offline test-prep subsidiary of beleaguered edtech firm Byju’s.

The investment, to be made through Pai’s family office, will allow Byju’s to pay off a loan of an equal amount taken from global investment management firm Davidson Kempner. Byju’s founder Byju Raveendran had pledged a significant number of his shares from his 27% stake in Aakash with Davidson Kempner to secure the loan and those pledged shares will get transferred to the family office.