BYJU’S faces growing insolvency challenges as OPPO, others file petitions with NCLT

The tally of insolvency petitions against BYJU’S is increasing, as OPPO, McGraw Hill Education, and Cogent E-services recently joined the roster of companies lodging insolvency claims against the edtech firm at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Bengaluru.

Publishing company Mcgraw Hill Education (India) Pvt Ltd’s case was registered on April 23, followed by consumer electronics manufacturer OPPO Mobiles India Pvt Ltd's case on April 30, and end-to-end customer experience solutions provider Cogent E-services’ case on May 1.

Cogent E-services’ case was filed in February, whereas the other two cases were filed in March. However, the listing dates for the newly registered cases have not yet been updated.

GLAS Trust Company LLC, Teleperformance Business Services India Ltd, The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and Surfer Technologies Pvt Ltd filed the remaining insolvency petitions against BYJU'S.

Besides these petitions, BYJU’S is embroiled in a dispute with a consortium of investors, including Prosus, General Atlantic, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Peak XV. The investors aim to invalidate the $200 million rights issue launched in January by appealing to the NCLT.

After hearing from the edtech firm's investors and management, the NCLT bench adjourned the matter to June 6 during the last hearing in April.

Against a backdrop of mounting challenges, BYJU’S India saw its CEO Arjun Mohan resign last month, a mere seven months into his tenure, marking yet another high-profile departure from the troubled edtech company.

The beleaguered company also said it is consolidating its businesses into three focused divisions: the learning app, online classes and tuition centres, and test prep.

Since last July, BYJU’S has faced a string of challenges, including the Davidson Kempner issue, resolved with Ranjan Pai's intervention; an escalation of the $1.2-billion term loan B dispute; bankruptcy filing by BYJU’S American unit Alpha; government-initiated inspection of BYJU’S' accounts; show cause notices from ED for FEMA violation; and the departure of CFO Ajay Goel after just six months.