NCLT starts insolvency proceedings against Byju's

Byju's faces insolvency proceedings after BCCI complaint, leading to investor crisis and valuation collapse.

An Indian tribunal on July 16 started insolvency proceedings for EdTech firm Byju's after the country's cricket board complained about failure to recover $19 million in dues, dealing another blow to a company that was once India's biggest startup.

Byju's has suffered numerous setbacks in the past few years, leading to a crisis of investor confidence, thousands of job cuts and a collapse in its valuation from $22 billion in 2022 to less than $3 billion.

Also read: Byju’s woes: A timeline of the Indian edutech giant’s troubles at home and abroad

In this latest blow, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) said “it cannot be disputed” that the parent of Byju’s, Think & Learn Private Limited, had availed itself of the services of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and had defaulted on roughly ₹1.59 billion.

"As we have always maintained, we wish to reach an amicable settlement with BCCI and we are confident that, despite this order, a settlement can be reached. In the meantime, our lawyers are reviewing the order and will take necessary steps to protect the Company’s interests," a spokesperson for Byju's said.

The NCLT appointed an interim resolution professional, Pankaj Srivastava, who will now oversee the management of Byju's. The powers of board of directors will be suspended for now and rest with Mr. Srivastava. BCCI did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.