Education technology firm Byju's is on the verge of resolving a $19 million payment dispute with the Indian cricket board, potentially liberating the company from an insolvency process that has immobilized the assets of what was once India's largest startup, according to three sources familiar with the situation.
An Indian tribunal recently started insolvency proceedings against Byju's after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) expressed concerns over its inability to retrieve sponsorship payments from the company, further impacting the business established by CEO Byju Raveendran, who rose from being a teacher to a startup billionaire. Valued at $22 billion in 2022, Byju's has faced multiple challenges in recent years, such as departures from the boardroom and conflicts with investors who accused Raveendran of corporate governance issues. The company has also had to lay off employees and has seen its valuation plummet to under $3 billion.
Byju's has refuted any misconduct. However, the company is nearing a settlement with the BCCI, as stated by the three anonymous sources due to the confidential nature of the talks. Two of these sources revealed that Byju's will settle the outstanding amount with the BCCI in three installments, beginning with an initial payment of 500 million rupees ($6 million).
A spokesperson for Byju's mentioned that the company could not provide immediate comments, and the BCCI did not reply to a request for comment via email. The terms of the settlement are still being negotiated and could be altered or withdrawn, according to one of the sources, who also noted that Raveendran is personally leading the negotiation process.
