India’s BYJU’s and the country’s cricket control board have agreed to settle a $19 million payments dispute case, a lawyer representing the education technology startup’s founder said on Wednesday.
The development comes a day after Reuters reported that BYJU’s is nearing a settlement deal with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), in a bid to free itself from an insolvency process that has frozen its assets, with founder Byju Raveendran leading the negotiations himself.
Arun Kathpalia, a senior lawyer, said that the payment to the BCCI will be made by Riju Raveendran, the founder’s brother. While it is not immediately clear how much BYJU’s is expected to pay, Kathpalia said that 500 million rupees (around $6 million) has already been paid to the cricket board.
BYJU’s and the BCCI did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Earlier this month, a company tribunal initiated insolvency proceedings against BYJU’s after the BCCI complained about its failure to recover sponsorship payments from the company, adding to a series of setbacks that the startup has grappled with in recent years.
Once an investor darling, Byju’s has battled boardroom exits, tussle with investors and a meteoric nosedive of its valuation – collapsing to less than $3 billion in 2023 from $22 billion in 2022.
BYJU’s has denied any wrongdoing.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, where the case is being tabled, said it will resume hearing the case on Thursday.
Reuters
