Bengaluru: Byju’s proposed Rs 158-crore settlement with the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) remains unresolved despite repeated directions from the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) and eight meetings of the edtech firm’s creditor panel since March, including three after the court’s June 29 order asking lenders to decide the matter quickly.
The settlement could determine whether insolvency proceedings against Byju’s parent Think & Learn will continue. If creditors approve the deal and the NCLT accepts it, the insolvency process would end, and the BCCI would receive the money. If they reject it, the Rs 158 crore (currently in an escrow) would return to Riju Ravindran, who funded the settlement, while the insolvency process would continue.
The decision has also become linked to wider settlement talks involving GLAS Trust, which represents the US lenders, Byju’s founders, Manipal group, and Aakash Educational Services, people aware of the discussions said. The lenders have been negotiating for a roughly 30% stake in Aakash as part of an arrangement that could end litigation across India, the US, and Singapore, ET reported last week.
“Any transfer of Aakash shares to the lenders would need to be implemented through a resolution plan for Think & Learn. Approving the BCCI settlement first could end the insolvency process and remove the creditor committee’s role, while rejecting it would keep that process alive,” one person with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Another person said this sequencing has made the timing of the BCCI decision commercially significant, though no final agreement has been signed.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the committee of creditors (CoC) said it had met on June 29, July 16, and July 20 but could not reach a decision. It sought further information on the source of the Rs 158 crore, renewal of a bank guarantee, and a copy of an application filed by Ravindran in the Supreme Court proceeding that had earlier dealt with the settlement.
Ravindran’s counsel said the source-of-funds questions had been answered in an April 1 letter and that the Supreme Court application remained under objections with the registry, and had therefore not been served. He said the lenders could accept or reject the explanation but could not continue delaying a decision. BCCI’s lawyer also opposed further delay, saying disputes between the creditors, the resolution professional, and the former management should not hold up its withdrawal request.
The June 29 order had directed the creditor panel to “expedite and decide” BCCI’s request and report back. Wednesday’s hearing ended without a decision, and the tribunal listed the BCCI application for September 15. The bench also directed that the settlement money be placed in an interest-bearing fixed deposit with a nationalised bank and should not be dealt with without NCLT approval.
In a separate application, the founders challenged GLAS’s authority and the size of its claim, and sought to stop the process of inviting buyers for Think & Learn. Their counsel alleged that 46 of 124 lenders had not signed the authority document relied on by GLAS, and argued that overseas asset recoveries should reduce its claim. GLAS and the resolution professional (RP) disputed the contentions.
The tribunal directed the RP not to proceed with form G, the formal invitation for potential buyers, or finalise the list of applicants until August 31, when it will next hear the matter. The temporary pause gives the founders limited relief but does not halt the entire insolvency proceeding.
Queries sent to BCCI, GLAS, the RP, and the founders did not elicit a response.
