BCCI & Byju’s Reach Payment Settlement; Legal Hurdles Remain

Byju’s and BCCI have reached an agreement to settle their dispute, according to media reports. Byju’s informed the company law appeals court that it would pay Rs 158 crore to BCCI under the settlement. The edtech company has already paid Rs 50 crore to the BCCI, while the rest of the money will be released in two tranches by August 2 and August 9.

As per media reports, the payment is being arranged by Riju Raveendran, the younger brother of edtech billionaire Byju Raveendran and co-founder. Byju's also agreed to submit an undertaking that the money will come from Riju, not from Byju's, after US lenders questioned its source.

However, the settlement was opposed in court by GLAS Trust Company, one of Byju’s US-based creditors, which questioned the radix of the funds that Byju’s would pay BCCI with, according to media reports. The matter is set to be heard further on Thursday.

According to media reports, it was BCCI, one of Byju's operational creditors, which had taken the company to the bankruptcy court for payment default. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had moved to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Bengaluru bench against edtech major Byju’s over pending dues related to the sponsorship of the Indian cricket team’s jerseys. A petition had been filed under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) against the parent company of Byju’s last November.

As per media reports, last month, the Bengaluru bench of NCLT admitted BCCI’s application for the initiation of corporate insolvency proceedings against Think & Learn Private company, the parent company of Byju’s, for defaulting on an amount of Rs 158.90 crore.

Interestingly, financial creditors must be repaid before operational creditors under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), according to media reports. If NCLAT approves the settlement between Byju's and BCCI, the bankruptcy suit may be dropped, and the company may remain in the hands of Byju Raveendran.