Byju's-BCCI deal: Edtech's US lenders want payment to BCCI be blocked, seek their funds first
On August 2, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) accepted the settlement deal between Byju Raveendran and BCCI, thus removing Byju's parent Think and Learn from the insolvency resolution process.
- Aug 3, 2024,
- Updated Aug 3, 2024 11:11 AM IST
Edtech company Byju's is currently facing legal action from its US lenders who are seeking to freeze the assets of a suspended director. The lenders argue that the director's funds should be used to pay off their debts, rather than to settle a debt with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
GLAS Trust Company, representing lenders owed $1.2 billion, has requested a US bankruptcy judge to prevent Riju Ravindran, the brother of Byju's founder Byju Ravindran, from transferring more than $19 million to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to resolve an insolvency case in India, Bloomberg reported.
“Too often, Ravindran, who chose to serve as a director in Delaware, has improperly attempted to use his residence abroad to avoid accountability from the U.S. courts,” lawyers for GLAS said in a court filing on Thursday night in Wilmington, Delaware.
On August 2, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) accepted the settlement deal between Byju Raveendran and BCCI, thus removing Byju's parent Think and Learn from the insolvency resolution process.
NCLAT said: "In view of the undertaking given and affidavit filed, the settlement is approved, the appeal succeeds and the impugned order is set aside. However, with the caveat that in case there is a breach in the undertaking given, the insolvency order shall be revived."
The control of the company has been returned to Byju Raveendran, as the NCLAT suspended the National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT) order that had allowed the company to enter the insolvency resolution process.
The appellate tribunal declined to consider the application by US-based lenders, who had claimed that the settlement was compromised.
On August 1, Riju Raveendran and his senior advocate Puneet Bali appeared before the court, where he submitted an affidavit and an undertaking confirming his commitment to pay Rs 158 crore to BCCI. Riju explicitly stated to the court that the funds being transferred to BCCI are sourced from his personal finances, derived from the sale of Think and Learn's shares over the period spanning from 2015 to 2022.
Edtech company Byju's is currently facing legal action from its US lenders who are seeking to freeze the assets of a suspended director. The lenders argue that the director's funds should be used to pay off their debts, rather than to settle a debt with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
GLAS Trust Company, representing lenders owed $1.2 billion, has requested a US bankruptcy judge to prevent Riju Ravindran, the brother of Byju's founder Byju Ravindran, from transferring more than $19 million to Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to resolve an insolvency case in India, Bloomberg reported.
“Too often, Ravindran, who chose to serve as a director in Delaware, has improperly attempted to use his residence abroad to avoid accountability from the U.S. courts,” lawyers for GLAS said in a court filing on Thursday night in Wilmington, Delaware.
On August 2, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) accepted the settlement deal between Byju Raveendran and BCCI, thus removing Byju's parent Think and Learn from the insolvency resolution process.
NCLAT said: "In view of the undertaking given and affidavit filed, the settlement is approved, the appeal succeeds and the impugned order is set aside. However, with the caveat that in case there is a breach in the undertaking given, the insolvency order shall be revived."
The control of the company has been returned to Byju Raveendran, as the NCLAT suspended the National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT) order that had allowed the company to enter the insolvency resolution process.
The appellate tribunal declined to consider the application by US-based lenders, who had claimed that the settlement was compromised.
On August 1, Riju Raveendran and his senior advocate Puneet Bali appeared before the court, where he submitted an affidavit and an undertaking confirming his commitment to pay Rs 158 crore to BCCI. Riju explicitly stated to the court that the funds being transferred to BCCI are sourced from his personal finances, derived from the sale of Think and Learn's shares over the period spanning from 2015 to 2022.