Ritwik Sharma, Peerzada Abrar &Amp;Amp; Ashli Varghese

Stories by Ritwik Sharma, Peerzada Abrar &Amp;Amp; Ashli Varghese

What Does Ranjan Pai's Re-Entry Mean For Byju's?

What Does Ranjan Pai's Re-Entry Mean For Byju's?

Rediff.com   1 Dec 2023

'Considering Pai is putting his own personal money in Byju's, stakeholders in the company can look forward to more governance and transparency.'

Flavours of ICC Cricket World Cup final on apps: Food and flowers

Flavours of ICC Cricket World Cup final on apps: Food and flowers

Rediff.com   20 Nov 2023

As the Men in Blue took on Australia in an intriguing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup final in Ahmedabad on Sunday, the orders on quick delivery platforms reflected the pulsating mood of the nation.

Loss At Byju's May Only Be Tip Of Iceberg

Loss At Byju's May Only Be Tip Of Iceberg

Rediff.com   18 Nov 2023

'Byju's financials only reflect the core business. At a group level, they are experiencing substantial losses.'

IT Hiring Slowdown Worries Students

IT Hiring Slowdown Worries Students

Rediff.com   13 Nov 2023

'Students of Tier-II and Tier III engineering colleges in the south may find 2023 to be one of the toughest years for getting jobs.'

Walmart-owned PhonePe crosses 500 million lifetime registered users

Walmart-owned PhonePe crosses 500 million lifetime registered users

Rediff.com   9 Nov 2023

Walmart-owned fintech firm PhonePe said it has crossed 500 million lifetime registered users on its platform. With this milestone, 1 in 3 Indians are now on PhonePe. The company said it is the first Indian internet company to have reached this scale globally. This milestone has been achieved in just over 7 years since the PhonePe UPI (Unified Payments Interface) payments launched in August 2016.

Byju's in talks with 3-4 strategic buyers to sell Epic for $450 million

Byju's in talks with 3-4 strategic buyers to sell Epic for $450 million

Rediff.com   7 Nov 2023

Byju's is in talks with three-four strategic buyers, including Joffre Capital Ltd and language learning platform Duolingo, to sell one of its key assets, US-based digital reading platform Epic, for about $400-$450 million, according to sources. With this, the beleaguered edtech firm wants to meet various commitments, including repaying its entire $1.2 billion term loan B (TLB) within six months. "The binding offers of the bidders to acquire Epic are expected to come in the next few weeks after the due diligence is complete," said a person familiar with the matter.

How Amazon Works With Indian Railways

How Amazon Works With Indian Railways

Rediff.com   13 Oct 2023

'Building a whole product with the railways was challenging; we had to figure out how to load and unload a train when it stops for only about five minutes at a station.' 'We also helped them understand the revenues this would generate for them.'

Kota Factory Calls For More Than Mechanical Repair

Kota Factory Calls For More Than Mechanical Repair

Rediff.com   25 Sep 2023

The suicides have involved more NEET aspirants than JEE. 'It's a make-or-mar situation.' 'Either you get into a government medical college, where the fee is much lower than in private institutes, or you don't make it.'

'Many Indian unicorns have set up businesses in Dubai'

'Many Indian unicorns have set up businesses in Dubai'

Rediff.com   16 Sep 2023

'As part of our D33 strategy, the plan is to establish 30 unicorns in Dubai within the next 10 years.'

Edtech company Byju's plans asset sale to pay off $1.2 billion loan

Edtech company Byju's plans asset sale to pay off $1.2 billion loan

Rediff.com   12 Sep 2023

Byju's, India's most-valued startup, has decided to put two of its key assets -- Epic and Great Learning -- on the block to generate $800 million-$1 billion in cash, with an aim to meet the edtech firm's various commitments, including repaying the entire $1.2 billion term loan B (TLB) within six months, according to sources. The cash-strapped company has proposed repaying $300 million of the $1.2 billion loan in the next three months, depending on whether the lenders accept Byju's amendment proposal, said the people familiar with the development. "This loan repayment proposal has been submitted to the lenders and conversations are going in the right direction," said a person in the know.

Byju's changing fortune: From buying spree to selling crown jewels

Byju's changing fortune: From buying spree to selling crown jewels

Rediff.com   12 Sep 2023

From those highs, the Bengaluru-headquartered company founded in 2011 is now looking to sell two companies it lists as "well-known acquisitions" on its website - Epic and Great Learning. But strategic buys have been critical to its quick expansion. The company got a valuation of about $8 billion by January 2020 after becoming a unicorn in late 2017.

'Jawan will boost IMAX'

'Jawan will boost IMAX'

Rediff.com   31 Aug 2023

'If the South starts shooting on IMAX more, it will be beneficial. And likewise, it will benefit Bollywood directors.'

Edtech giant Byju's CBO Prathyusha Agarwal, two senior executives quit

Edtech giant Byju's CBO Prathyusha Agarwal, two senior executives quit

Rediff.com   30 Aug 2023

Three senior executives have resigned from Byju's at a time when the most valuable edtech company has been trying to address challenges such as due diligence issues, legal battles with lenders, challenges in raising fresh capital, and a markdown in its valuation by investors. Prathyusha Agarwal, the chief business officer of Byju's, has quit, according to sources. They said Himanshu Bajaj, business head of Byju's tuition centres, and Mukut Deepak, business head for Class 4 to 10, have also moved on.

We will reinvent the motorcycle category for the world: Ola Electric CEO

We will reinvent the motorcycle category for the world: Ola Electric CEO

Rediff.com   16 Aug 2023

Ola Electric, India's largest maker of electric scooters, launched its most affordable ride on Tuesday, in an attempt to woo more customers and expand its electric two-wheeler lineup.

Manipal Group chairman Ranjan Pai in talks to invest in Byju's-owned Aakash

Manipal Group chairman Ranjan Pai in talks to invest in Byju's-owned Aakash

Rediff.com   2 Aug 2023

Manipal Group chairman Ranjan Pai is in early discussions to invest in Byju's-owned Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL). According to sources in the know, Byju's founder and chief executive officer Byju Raveendran, who owns a 30 per cent stake in Aakash, is expected to partially offload his holding to Pai for $80-90 million (about Rs 650-740 crore). Raveendran may use the money to repay a large part of the Rs 800 crore loan that Byju's raised from US-based investment firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management in May, after facing a 'technical default', the sources said.

Binny Bansal, Accel and Tiger Global exit Flipkart with bumper returns

Binny Bansal, Accel and Tiger Global exit Flipkart with bumper returns

Rediff.com   1 Aug 2023

Walmart, the world's largest retailer, has paid $1.4 billion to buy out US-based Tiger Global's investment in e-commerce firm Flipkart, according to sources. The transaction puts Flipkart's valuation at $35 billion, against nearly $38 billion in 2021 when it raised funds from Japan's SoftBank, Walmart, and other investors. Tiger Global, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, and Accel now have all fully exited the e-commerce firm by selling their stake to Walmart.

Launches Outnumber Sales Since Early 2022

Launches Outnumber Sales Since Early 2022

Rediff.com   19 Jul 2023

Residential house prices have only risen since the pandemic.

'If anything goes wrong with Byju's...'

'If anything goes wrong with Byju's...'

Rediff.com   22 Jun 2023

'India's edtech and start-up story will be in danger.'

Open to resolving disputes; won't do one-on-one meetings: Lenders to Byju's

Open to resolving disputes; won't do one-on-one meetings: Lenders to Byju's

Rediff.com   15 Jun 2023

A group of lenders to educational technology (edtech) giant Byju's has told the firm that they're open to negotiations with the company to resolve litigation and other disputes, according to people familiar with the matter. However, they have told Byju's that they will not engage in the firm's proposal for one-on-one meetings, according to sources. Byju's recently filed a suit against US-based investment management firm Redwood to challenge the acceleration of the $1.2-billion Term Loan B (TLB) facility, and disqualify the lender for its "predatory tactics".

$1.2-billion loan dispute: Byju's legal battle worries key investor

$1.2-billion loan dispute: Byju's legal battle worries key investor

Rediff.com   12 Jun 2023

The legal battle between Byju's and lenders in the US on the edtech firm's $1.2-billion term loan B (TLB), along with the company skipping an interest payment of $40 million on the loan, has made the other investor Davidson Kempner Capital Management, "extremely concerned", according to the people familiar with the matter. They said Byju's has closed a Rs 2,000-crore ($250 million) round from the US-based investment firm and it may stop or consider slowing down the flow of various tranches of that capital to the company. It may also decide not to provide any new funding or participate in any such round in the future, the sources said.