upGrad-Unacademy Merger Nears Completion

Edtech major upGrad is in the final stages of acquiring edtech rival Unacademy in a transaction valued at ₹1,955 Cr, with the signing process almost complete, as per sources familiar with the amalgamation deal. 

A senior executive aware of the development told Inc42, on the condition of anonymity, that almost all institutional investors have signed the share subscription agreement (SSA), while all angel investors have signed the share purchase agreement (SPA). The deal is expected to close within the next three weeks.

As part of the transaction, Unacademy cofounder and CEO Gaurav Munjal will continue to lead the startup after the acquisition.

Language learning platform Airlearn, which was incubated within Unacademy, will also be included in the transaction and become part of upGrad following the deal.

Notably, ahead of the acquisition, Unacademy completed an ESOP exercise worth ₹45 Cr. Around 1,000 of the company’s 1,100 former employees participated in the exercise, the executive added.

Following the acquisition, Unacademy, PrepLadder, Airlearn and Graphy are expected to operate from Bengaluru.

The deal will also give Unacademy investors one seat on UpGrad’s board, the people cited above said.

Economic Times reported the development first.

The report further adds that Unacademy’s investors will receive one seat on UpGrad’s board as part of the edtechs’ merger. 

The acquisition marks one of the biggest consolidation moves in India’s edtech sector in recent years, as startups continue to look for scale and operational efficiencies amid a prolonged funding slowdown. It also comes after years of intense competition between upGrad and Unacademy across multiple online learning segments.

(The story will be updated soon)

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