US lenders on Tuesday said that the Delaware Supreme Court ruling has affirmed that Byju's defaulted on Term Loan B while the edtech firm asserted that it has no impact on legal proceedings going on in India. Byju's US-based lenders on Tuesday said the Delaware Supreme Court (SC) in its September 23 order affirmed the previous ruling by the Delaware Court of Chancery and said an event of default had occurred under the credit agreement and entitled Byju's lenders and their administrative agent, GLAS Trust, for action against the company.
US lenders represented by Glas Trust have countered Byju's founder Byju Raveendran's claim on verified debt on the company being merely around Rs 20 crore, and have said that the beleaguered edtech firm will have to pay the entire $1.2 billion Term Loan B along with interest. The founder of Think and Learn (TLPL) and owner of Byju's brand, Byju Raveendran, had about a week ago said that verified debt on the company is only Rs 20 crore as per insolvency proceedings and he may not have to pay any money to the US lenders represented by Glas Trust.
Troubled edtech firm Byju's founder Byju Raveendran on Thursday said that he is willing to pay back the entire money to lenders if they are willing to work with him. During a two-and-a-half-hour call with the media, Raveendran said that lenders will not get any money if the process of insolvency against the company continues. "If they are willing to work with me, I am willing to give them money back before I take a single rupee out.
Edtech major Byju's on Tuesday said it has filed a complaint in the New York Supreme Court to challenge acceleration of the $1.2 billion Term Loan B (TLB). The company is also seeking the disqualification of Redwood, who contrary to the terms of TLB, purchased a significant portion of the loan while primarily trading in distressed debt. "Byju's has had to take these measures following a series of predatory tactics by the lenders, led by Redwood," the company said in a statement.
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.
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.
Edtech firm Think and Learn, which owns Byju's brand, has not paid the July salary to employees as the company was unable to access its accounts due to a temporary stay granted by the Supreme Court on the NCLAT's decision, a top official said on Tuesday. On August 2, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) approved the Rs 158.9 crore dues settlement with BCCI and set aside insolvency proceedings against Byju's.
With investors asking for a change in the board structure at Byju's, the edtech giant's founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Byju Raveendran, is now asking them to put $300 million into the company for more control. The company has rung up $5.8 billion from investors such as General Atlantic, Sofina, the Qatar Investment Authority, Sumeru Ventures, Vitruvian Partners, BlackRock, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia, Silver Lake, Bond Capital, Tencent, and Tiger Global.
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.
An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of Byju's shareholders got underway on Friday to vote on a resolution brought by some investors to ouster founder CEO Byju Raveendran and his family over alleged "mismanagement and failures". Raveendran and his family stayed away from the EGM, calling it "procedurally invalid."
Byju's plans to raise funds at a lower valuation of $7-8 billion as the embattled edtech major looks to shore up its financials with adequate liquidity, a senior company executive said on Tuesday. Banking on overall "improved performance", Think and Learn, the parent of Byju's, is hopeful of a higher valuation ahead of its rights issue being planned in February to raise funds. Byju's India chief financial officer Nitin Golani said the company is in need of funds and plans to raise it at a lower valuation to make the offer lucrative for investors as well as ensure adequate liquidity support for the edtech firm.
'If you look at assets truly working for us, you should look at Aakash and Great Learning.'
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".
With debt woes and a legal case in the US courts, educational technology (edtech) giant Byju's is expected to be laying off more employees, according to media reports. According to The Morning Context report, Byju's intends to lay off 1,000 employees. This number, however, could not be confirmed by Business Standard independently. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment on the reports.
In a breather to the troubled edtech company, the steering committee of lenders has agreed to amend a $1.2 billion term loan with Byju's by August 3, 2023, the lenders announced on Monday. Successful execution of the amendment would "immediately" solve the loan's acceleration and end all open litigation while avoiding further enforcement actions, they in a statement. An e-mail sent to Byju's did not elicit a response.
Byju Raveendran, CEO and founder of the eponymous edtech giant, has told shareholders that the company will set up a board advisory committee (BAC). This was part of a discussion on July 4 with shareholders at an emergency general meeting (EGM). Raveendran also said that in the next EGM in three weeks will give details about BAC's members and composition.
Edtech major Byju's is growing slowly but sustainably and is close to achieving profitability at the group level, the company's CEO Byju Raveendran said on Thursday. The company organised a town hall with Raveendran to allay apprehensions about the uncertainty around the company's growth and its future. According to sources, who attended the town hall, Raveendran said that issues with $1.2 billion Term Loan B lenders are being resolved through discussion and hopeful of a positive outcome in the next few weeks without the court's intervention.
Tech giant Microsoft Corporation has invested nearly $5 million (about Rs 37 crore) in OYO through the issuance of equity shares and compulsory convertible cumulative preference shares on a private placement basis by the latter, according to a regulatory filing by the hospitality chain. An extraordinary general meeting of Oravel Stays Pvt Ltd (OYO), which runs the OYO Rooms chain of hotels, on July 16 approved issue of the equity shares and Series F2 compulsory convertible cumulative preference shares (Series F2 CCCPS) for "an aggregate consideration amounting to rupee equivalent of $4,971,650 to Microsoft Corporation on a private placement basis", as per an RoC filing by the company.
'India's edtech and start-up story will be in danger.'
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.
Hospitality firm OYO is looking to raise $600 million (over Rs 4,380 crore) in debt from the US institutional investors to service its existing loans, sources in know of the matter said on Thursday. The company is raising $600 million in a term loan B (TLB) structure, the sources said. The company is taking the TLB to service its existing loans which are on higher interest rates, they added.
IPO-bound mobility platform Ola, said it has successfully raised $500 million via a Term Loan B (TLB) from marquee international institutional investors. This term loan has no impact on the valuation of Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola. The Bengaluru-based firm recently raised $139 million. This is part of a $1 billion funding round for which the company is in talks with investors, increasing its valuation to about $7.5 billion, according to the sources.
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