Beleaguered edtech firm Byju's has moved the Karnataka high court challenging the order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) restraining it from going ahead with the second rights issue. The plea is likely to come up for hearing on Monday. The orders of NCLT were expected to be challenged before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
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.
A consortium of shareholders with over 30 per cent stake in cash-strapped Byju's might approach the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking a management change, if the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) scheduled for Friday failed to yield an 'amicable settlement' or faced further delays, sources said. Earlier this month, these shareholders had issued a notice calling for an EGM to address "persistent issues", including a change in management. They will vote for a revamp of the existing board, an exercise which would include asking Byju Raveendran to step down as chief executive officer (CEO) and relinquish his operational role, according to sources.
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.
In a bid to democratise education, cash-strapped edtech firm Byju's has significantly reduced the prices of its products. The annual subscription fee for the Byju's Learning App now stands at Rs 12,000 (inclusive of taxes) per year, while Byju's Classes and Byju's Tuition Centres (BTC) are priced at Rs 24,000 and Rs 36,000 respectively for a full year of classes, according to the sources.
The Enforcement Directorate has upgraded its Look out Circular (LC) issued against Byju's founder and CEO Byju Raveendran in connection with a FEMA probe, seeking to stop him for going abroad. The earlier such alert meant that immigration authorities had to just intimate the agency about his movements through various ports. Official sources said that the over an year old LC was revised sometime back in light of investors' concerns and ongoing adjudication of a FEMA contravention case against Raveendran and some others.
Karnataka high court on Wednesday refused to stay an emergency shareholder meeting called by select investors of Think and Learn Pvt Ltd -- the owner of Byju's -- to oust the company's Founder and CEO Byju Raveendran and his family from the leadership in the edtech firm. Byju's had approached the Karnataka HC seeking a stay on the EGM but the court only gave an interim relief that any resolution passed at the EGM on Friday cannot be implemented before the next court hearing. "It is further submitted that the conditions for convening the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) are not complied and no notice is issued as contemplated under Section 100 (3) of the Companies Act 2013," the court order said.
Arjun Mohan, CEO of India operations of Think and Learn, which owns Byju's brand, has resigned from the beleaguered firm, which on Monday also announced a business rejig consolidating its operations into three verticals. Mohan had joined Byju's in July last year as the CEO for international business after quitting rival UpGrad in February as CEO. Later, he was given charge of India operations in September after Byju's then CEO Mrinal Mohit resigned. After taking over the charge, Mohan undertook restructuring of the organisation which led to layoffs of around 4,000 employees at Byju's.
A day after investors of the troubled edtech firm Byju's voted for a leadership change, Byju Raveendran has penned a note to employees saying he continues to remain CEO and the management remains unchanged, as he dubbed Friday's EGM as a "farce". The note to employees assumes significance as it comes after Byju's shareholders (prominent investors) on Friday voted for removing founder-CEO Raveendran and his family from the board over alleged "mismanagement and failures" at what was once India's hottest tech startup, but the company dug in its heels, calling the voting done in absence of founders as invalid and ineffective.
Prosus NV, an investor in educational startup Byjus, on Tuesday said the troubled company's reporting and governance structure did not evolve sufficiently for a company of that scale and it "regularly disregarded advice" despite repeated efforts by the Dutch-listed technology firm's former director. Prosus, which this year slashed its valuation of Byju's to $5.1 billion from $22 billion last year, said the decision for its director to step down from Byju's board last month was mainly because he was "unable to fulfil his fiduciary duty to serve the long-term interests of the Company and its stakeholders." In a statement, Prosus said Byju's grew considerably since its first investment in 2018.
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 founder Byju Raveendran on Saturday said the edtech company will not be able to pay salaries to employees as the recent funds raised through a rights issue are inaccessible due to a legal dispute with certain investors. In a letter to staff, Raveendran said the rights issue, launched a month ago, has been successfully closed. "This was supposed to be a happy correspondence.
Edtech major Byju's is in process to raise Rs 600-700 crore to fund the company's operations till March by when it expects to realise money through the sale of Epic and partial stake sale in other subsidiaries, according to sources aware of the development. Byju's founder Byju Raveendran has recently raised money by mortgaging home and real estate assets owned by family members for paying salaries, sources said. "There is about Rs 50 crore gap per month in operational expenses where a large component is salary.
Byju's first came on board with the BCCI back in 2019 when mobile manufacturer Oppo transferred the sponsorship rights to the online tutorial firm.
'If you look at assets truly working for us, you should look at Aakash and Great Learning.'
More than 60 per cent of shareholders of edutech Byju's on Friday voted for removal of founder CEO Byju Raveendran and his family over alleged "mismanagement and failures" at what was once India's hottest tech startup, but the company dug in its heels, calling the voting done in the absence of founders as "invalid". Prosus - one of the six investors who had called the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) - in a statement said "shareholders unanimously passed all resolutions put forward for vote.
'Despite the animosity shown by some of the investors in pursuing uncalled for legal actions, we continue to show good faith towards all our shareholders.'
'India's edtech and start-up story will be in danger.'
Byju Raveendran, founder of educational technology (edtech) firm Byju's, has injected around Rs 4,000 crore of personal capital into the company in recent months. This move comes as the company grapples with challenges, including securing fresh capital, delays in financial reporting, and legal disputes with lenders. "Raveendran has pledged personal property to assist the company in dealing with the crisis. "He conveyed to employees that despite perceptions of being a billionaire, he has reinvested a major portion of his wealth back into the company," said a person familiar with the matter.
'Byju's financials only reflect the core business. At a group level, they are experiencing substantial losses.'
Byju Raveendran, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of Byju's, along with its nearly 51 investors, are responsible for the beleaguered edtech firm's current predicaments, said Ronnie Screwvala, executive chairman and co-founder of edtech platform UpGrad. Speaking at the second edition of the ASU+GSV & Emeritus Summit in Gurugram, he emphasised that "one rotten apple" should not affect the entire edtech sector.
Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi, once hailed as rising stars in India's clean energy sector, are now facing serious regulatory action.
'They have got the advisory council, a CEO has been appointed finally, and they have made some headway on the term loan B.'
'Considering Pai is putting his own personal money in Byju's, stakeholders in the company can look forward to more governance and transparency.'
BlackRock has again reduced the valuation of its share in edtech firm Byju's - this time to about $1 billion, TechCrunch reported on Friday, citing disclosures made by the US-based asset manager. This is 95 per cent less than its peak valuation of $22 billion in 2022. The markdown comes at a time when the company is facing a multitude of challenges, including securing fresh capital, delays in financial reporting and legal disputes with lenders.
Byju Raveendran, the founder and chief executive officer of the beleaguered edtech firm Byju's, said the company credited all pending January salaries to employees over the past few days. This was communicated to the employees in another letter sent on February 4. Byju's has about 15,000 employees. "I know you were told that you would get your salaries by Monday.
Cash-strapped edtech firm Byju's' parent company said on Monday it will raise $200 million by way of a rights issue to all its equity shareholders, aiming to support growth and achieve operational sustainability. The proposed rights issuance by Think and Learn Private Limited (TLPL) will fund capital expenditure and support general corporate purposes. As the largest shareholders, the founders of Byju's have personally invested more than $1.1 billion in the company in the last 18 months.
Educational technology company Byju's chief financial officer Ajay Goel has quit after completing the audit process for the financial year 2022 and will return to Vedanta, the company said in a statement. The edtech major has roped in industry veteran Pradip Kanakia as senior advisor, and president (finance) Nitin Golani has been given additional responsibility as India chief finance officer (CFO) to handle the finance function of the company.
The corporate affairs ministry has ordered an inspection of the books of Byju's, a senior government official said on Monday amid the edtech major facing multiple headwinds, including delay in submitting financial statements and concerns over corporate governance issues. The inspection of Bengaluru-based Think & Learn Pvt Ltd, which operates under the brand Byju's, will be carried out by the ministry, which is implementing the companies law. The ministry decided to carry out the inspection after taking note of the developments, including that the company has been unable to finalise its financial statements and that its auditor has resigned, the official told PTI.
An Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into alleged foreign exchange law violations by edtech major Byju's and its CEO and co-founder Raveendran Bjyu is in the final stages of completion following which a show cause notice could be served to them, official sources said Tuesday. The central probe agency had in April searched two business and one residential premises, including that of the registered company of Byju's -- Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd. -- under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
Edtech firm Byju's founding partner and India operations CEO Mrinal Mohit has resigned "for personal reasons", the company said on Wednesday. Byju's international business CEO Arjun Mohan will take the additional charge of heading the country's operations, it said. "Arjun Mohan (is) taking charge as the CEO of India operations.
After assuring shareholders that Byju's is on a strong footing, Chief Executive Officer Byju Raveendran, after much delay, spoke to employees in a townhall session. In his first-ever address to employees since problems began at Byju's, Raveendran spoke about the resignation of auditors and board members, the Term Loan B dispute, and the future of educational technology (edtech). Raveendran also asked his team to 'rise above the noise' and work with resilience and determination.
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.
The recent notification by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) allowing part-resolution of stressed assets of companies under the insolvency process has sent many resolution professionals (RPs) and committees of creditors (CoCs) back to the drawing board to reassess their strategies for resolving corporate insolvencies.
Audit firm Deloitte has resigned as auditors of Byju's citing a delay in submission of financial statements while almost simultaneously three of the edtech firm's board members have quit in what is being seen as a deepening crisis at the decacorn. Deloitte Haskins & Sells, which was slated to audit Byju's until 2025, stepped down with "immediate effect" mid-term stating that "the financial statements of the company are long delayed. In a letter sent to the board of Think & Learn Pvt Ltd (known as Byju's), Deloitte said it has not been able to start an audit due to the delays and that will have a "significant impact" on its ability to "plan, design perform and complete" the audit as per standards.
Edtech major Byju's will launch the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of its test preparatory arm Aakash Education Services Limited by middle of next year, the company said on Monday. Aakash Education Services Limited (AESL) revenue is on track to reach Rs 4,000 crore with an EBITDA (operational profit) of Rs 900 crore in the fiscal year 2023-24, the company said in a statement. "Byju's... will launch the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of its subsidiary, Aakash Education Services Limited (AESL) mid next year," Byju's said in a statement.
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.
'Which fund manager in the world will put money into a company that hasn't filed its annual account?'
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.
Edtech major Byju's may lay off up to 3,500 employees during the current fiscal as it looks to consolidate teams and enhance regional focus, sources privy to the development said. According to one of the sources, Byju's had "over hired" people at the time of Covid pandemic due to sudden jump in online education, but the demand has now receded, for which the company needs to do course correction. "There has been no retrenchment as of now.
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