Byju’s averts bankruptcy as court allows settlement on BCCI debt case

Embattled edutech firm Byju’s got a breather in its bankruptcy proceedings after a companies’ appeals court on Friday ruled that Byju’s can settle the case with its creditor India’s cricket overseer, Bloomberg reported.

The online tutoring startup managed to secure more time to repay $19 million owed to India’s cricket’s governing board (ICC) and stave off insolvency for now.

Bloomberg reported that the firm owed the Board of Control for Cricket in India 1.59 billion rupees ($19 million) and has so far paid INR 500 million ($6 million) of the total, prompting the cricket board to agree to halt proceedings.

Earlier this week, a suspended director of the troubled Indian educational tech firm was ordered to pay $10,000 a day until he helps locate $533 million that his company is accused of hiding from US lenders.

Riju Ravindran, brother of Byju's founder, has been at the center of a nearly two-year-old fight over the missing cash, which lenders say should be returned to them after the company defaulted. Ravindran is one of three directors of Think & Learn Pvt. "- which operates the Byju's brand "- who were recently replaced by a trustee as part of an involuntary bankruptcy case filed in India, according to US court documents.

After imposing the sanctions on Ravindran, US Bankruptcy Judge Brendan Shannon also rejected a request to put the US debt fight on hold so Ravindran and the company could find new lawyers. American lawyers for Ravindran and Byju's units want to quit defending their clients in the bankruptcy dispute, blaming "an irreparable breakdown."

More to follow...