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Creditors may take over Byju’s as NCLT admits insolvency resolution

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Byju’s, once the highest valued Indian startup, is set to face insolvency resolution process at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) following a plea filed by the Indian cricket board. The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) had filed under section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) 2016 which permits creditors to take control of the company from the current management. NCLT order in November 2023 said that Byju’s had defaulted on a payment of Rs 158 crore. NCLT has appointed Pankaj Srivastava as the interim resolution professional and he will run Byju’s till the lenders form a committee known as the Committee of Creditors. “The Interim Resolution Professional shall after collation of all the claims received against Think and Learn Pvt Ltd the Corporate Debtor and the determination of the financial position of the Corporate Debtor constitutes a Committee of Creditors,” the arbitrator order said. The NCLT order asserts that there is no ground to deny Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) by BCCI against Byju’s as defaults have been established by the Bengaluru-based edtech firm. Byju’s has been going through turmoil for the past couple of years. The firm already faced a funding crisis and saw an exodus at the top as well as board level in the past 12 months. In October 2023, the company’s chief financial officer Ajay Goel left whereas Arjun Mohoan, its chief executive for India, put in his papers in April this year. Rajnish Kumar and T V Mohandas Pai also left the company as advisors in July this year. Last month, investment firm Prosus, which has invested around $500 million in Byju’s over the years, wrote off the value of its 9.6% stake in the company. This came soon after Byju’s raised a $200 million rights issue at a valuation of $225 million. This is a 99% discount to its peak valuation of $22 billion. Not only Byju’s, its founder Raveendran’s net worth also went down to zero, according to Forbes Billionaire Index 2024.