Byju's Lenders May Take 30% Stake in Aakash to Settle Dispute
Quick Look
- Byju's global lenders are in advanced talks to acquire a 30% stake in its partly-owned firm Aakash Educational Services and drop all legal action against founder Byju Raveendran.
- The settlement, valuing Aakash at $2 billion, aims to resolve a dispute stemming from unpaid loans and alleged mismanagement.
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Why It Matters
Byju's, a popular online education firm during the COVID-19 pandemic, faces financial and legal challenges stemming from a dispute with its U.S.-based lenders. The company filed for bankruptcy in India in 2024.
Byju's global lenders are in talks to take a roughly 30% stake in one of its partly-owned education firms and drop all legal action against the Indian company's founder Byju Raveendran, two sources with direct knowledge said.
Byju's operated in more than 21 countries at one point and became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic by offering online courses. But its fortunes changed in early 2023 when the high-profile dispute with its U.S.-based lenders began.
US-based Glas Trust, trustee for a group of lenders, accused Raveendran of mismanagement and demanded $1 billion in unpaid loans after Byju's filed for bankruptcy in India in 2024. Raveendran and Byju's have denied any wrongdoing. After a meteoric rise from being a teacher to startup billionaire, Raveendran's education-technology company imploded and, in 2024, he said, "The company is worth zero." The legal dispute, which spans courts in India, Singapore and the United States, has been raging since Byju's bankruptcy.
The two sources, who declined to be named as the talks are private, told Reuters that the lenders are in the advanced stages of settling the dispute and are likely to take a roughly 30% stake in Aakash Educational Services, a popular offline coaching institute. As part of the settlement all parties will uniformly withdraw all the cases, the sources said.
Byju's acquired India's Aakash in a $1 billion deal in 2021, but its stake has since been diluted to a minority, with Manipal Health now the single largest shareholder. Raveendran declined to comment, citing pending legal proceedings in courts. Byju's, Glas Trust, Aakash and Manipal Health did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Aakash runs more than 300 centres across India offering test preparatory services for medical and engineering entrance exams, as well as school papers. It has a faculty of more than 5,000 experts and last reported annual revenue of around $254 million.
The settlement talks, which one of the sources said involve Raveendran, Glas Trust, Aakash and Manipal, value Aakash at roughly $2 billion, the two sources added.
Open Questions
- Will the settlement be finalized?
- What is the exact financial state of Byju's?
- What is the future of Byju's other international operations?
