Byju's is reportedly planning to rebrand its wholly-owned subsidiary, WhiteHat Jr, and integrate its assets into other business verticals, including its holding entity, Think & Learn Pvt. This strategic move aims to reduce costs and address an immediate liquidity challenge.
WhiteHat Jr, acquired by Byju's in a $300 million cash deal three years ago, has been a major contributor to the company's losses due to its significant marketing and employee benefit expenses.
Byju's has invested more than $100 million in WhiteHat Jr since the acquisition to support its expansion. The merger with other business segments is intended to lower overall expenditure, which is crucial given the company's imminent financial requirements.
Reports suggest that WhiteHat Jr will be rebranded as "Byju's Future School" and will expand its offline presence. Byju's Future School is a platform focused on teaching coding to children outside of India and has had synergies with WhiteHat Jr since its inception three years ago.
WhiteHat Jr's CEO, Ananya Tripathi, recently resigned, following the previous resignation of Karan Bajaj, the company's founder and former CEO. Trupti Mukker, an executive at Byju's, had been appointed as the CEO of WhiteHat Jr before Tripathi took charge.
This development comes at a time when Byju's is planning to lay off approximately 4,000 employees, which represents over 11 percent of its 35,000-strong workforce, in the coming weeks. This workforce reduction is part of a restructuring initiative led by the new India CEO, Arjun Mohan, and will primarily affect employees based in India who work for Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, Byju's parent company.