BYJU'S owner Byju Raveendran photo is seen on his company web page in this illustration.
Credit: Reuters photo
New Delhi: Think & Learn, which owns Byju's may not have to pay any amount for the disputed USD 1.2-billion Term Loan B due the present "behaviour" of Glas Trust -- an agency which is representing US-based lenders -- Founder and CEO of the edtach major Byju Raveendran said.
In an interview to PTI, Raveendran said the verified debt claim on Byju's as per the insolvency resolution professional (IRP) is now only Rs 20 crore.
Glas Trust has filed an appeal against Byju's claiming dues of USD 1.35 billion, or Rs 11,432.98 crore, arising out of the raising of USD 1.2 billion by the edtech firm as Term Loan B (TLB) from the lenders in the US.
Raveendran said the TLB is a traded instrument that is currently trading around 20 cents, putting the current value of the debt raised by the company at USD 240 million.
"The way they (Glas Trust) are acting, they are not going to get any money. They only might drop it to zero value. The first question, when Glas comes to the court, who is Glas? Now, we are not saying that we didn't raise USD 1.2 billion. But are you representing the right lenders? Are you the guy who gave the money? Answer is no," Raveendran said.
He alleged that the IRP asked them to submit the list of lenders but failed to do so and Glas Trust was removed from the entities being represented by the committee of creditors' whose claims have been admitted for due recovery under the ongoing insolvency proceedings against Byju's.
"The IRP has asked for data and they will never be able to give because 70 per cent plus lenders are disqualified so how will they get 51 per cent qualified lenders? That is why after being provisionally admitted, they have been removed now. Our largest operational creditor, BCCI, is cleared. Only verified amount claimed is Rs 20 crore," Raveendran said.
An email to Glas Trust seeking a comment on the issue did not elicit any response till the time of filing this report.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had approached insolvency body National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against Byju's to recover Rs 158.9 crore.
The NCLAT ordered insolvency proceedings against Byju's but set aside its order after the edtech firm agreed to pay the dues and reached an agreement with BCCI.
However, Glas Trust approached the Supreme Court against the NCLAT order. The top court on August 14 stayed the NCLAT verdict that had set aside the insolvency proceedings against the edtech major.
Raveendran said the debt raised from US lenders was to be cleared by November 2026 but the Glas Trust-represented lenders wrongly accelerated the payment schedule and their appeal has not been approved by any court.
"Every court they have been getting rejected. We were paying till these aggressive lenders took charge. Approximately, USD 150 million interest has been paid. Now, obviously, when they are litigating us, hurting us everywhere, why will we pay? We will pay but we are not even sure who the lenders are? We didn't take money from these lenders," he said.
Byju's was one of the most valuable startups and boasted of a peak valuation of USD 22 billion in 2022. The firm itself slashed its valuation by 99 per cent to raise USD 200 through a rights issue.
The trouble for the company started after US lenders approached Delaware court in 2023 and the company stopped paying interest due to the legal tussle.
The fund raised by Byju's is also stuck in an escrow account due to legal proceedings against the company based on an application filed by a group of miffed investors.