How were your celebrations over the weekend? Full of light, joy, companionship, and good food, I hope.
For today, I thought we’d take things a bit light and do a very quick round-up of a couple of interesting developments from the world of Indian education and edtech.
Byju’s, Byju’s, and more Byju’s—It’s hard to remember a time when the Indian edtech wasn’t in the news. Byju’s released its much-delayed financial results for the year ended March 2022 on 4 November, but there’s quite a bit to parse here, so I’m going to leave this for deep-dive at a later date. I will note, however, that these results are only for Byju’s core business and not Aakash Educational Services or any other acquisitions made by its parent Think and Learn Pvt. Ltd.
Meanwhile, in the US last week, the edtech company was handed a setback when a Delaware judge ruled in favour of Glas Trust, which represents a group of 37 lenders who had extended it a US$1.2-billion loan. The lenders claim that the company defaulted, and earlier this year, they replaced Riju Raveendran—Byju’s founder Byju Raveendran’s brother—on the board of Byju’s Alpha (a special purpose vehicle set up by the edtech) with their own appointee.
This resulted in a rapid-fire exchange of suit and countersuit, with the Delaware case only being the first of many. Two more related cases—in New York and Miami—are still underway.
Now, however, the Delaware court has ruled that Glas Trust’s actions were fully above board. From Livemint’s report on the verdict:
| “…Plaintiffs seek a declaration that Glas validly removed Ravindran as Byju’s Alpha’s sole director and officer, and that it validly appointed Pohl as Byju’s Alpha’s director and officer, among other things. Following a half-day trial on a paper record, I conclude that Pohl is indeed Byju’s Alpha’s sole director and officer,” Delaware chancery court judge Morgan Zurn pronounced in an order dated 2 November.The transcript of the telephonic order, which was reviewed by Mint, was filed by Glas Trust on 6 November in a Miami court. The lenders are seeking information about the money that Byju’s Alpha transferred to an obscure hedge fund and want to know its current whereabouts. “WhiteHat’s failure to accede as a guarantor constituted an event of default, entitling Glas to send a default notice. It follows that Glas’s and Pohl’s actions were valid unless one of the defendants’ defence succeeds,” judge Zurn ruled.Byju’s faces setback after US court rules in favour of lenders’ consortium, Livemint |
Byju’s in the news once again
Also last week came news that the family office of Ranjan Pai, founder of the Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG), has closed a Rs 1,400-crore (US$168 million) deal which will see him buy out investment firm Davidson Kempner’s debt investment in Aakash Education Services. Reports also claim that Pai could acquire some of Aakash founder Aakash Chaudhry’s shares in the Byju’s subsidiary, taking Pai’s shareholding in the company to about 30%.
| Pai’s payout to Davidson Kempner was through a bilateral debt transaction. An entity of Pai purchased all the non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of Aakash held by Davidson Kempner on NSE Cbrics platform on Friday.Davidson Kempner held about 15-20% in Aakash through the pledged shares for the loan.[…]Of the Rs 1,400 crore being paid to Davidson Kempner, Rs 800 crore is the loan amount and the remaining Rs 600 crore is in interest, the sources said. This would be a 75% gain on the initial loan given to Byju’s.Over the next 30-45 days, Pai is also likely to enhance his investment in the test-prep firm, which will eventually give him a 25-30% stake in the company. His investments will be in Aakash and not in Think and Learn, people aware of the matter said.Ranjan Pai cuts Rs 1,400 crore cheque for Davidson Kempner debt, books Aakash seats, The Economic Times |
Government tightens IIM screws—Moving on from everyone’s favourite edtech, it seems the Indian government is hell bent on making sure that IIM directors remain firmly under its thumb. I’ve already written about how the government has increased its control over the Indian Institutes of Management via amendments to the IIM Act.
Well, now, Indian Express reports that the new rules being framed following the amendments will make this control as airtight as possible.
| For instance, while the amendment to the IIM Act granted the President the authority to remove the director of an IIM, the Rules are expected to explicitly state that the institute’s Board is obligated to follow the decision of the Visitor in this regard. There is no room for back-and-forth on this matter.The Rules are also expected, for the first time, to firmly establish the educational qualifications of an IIM Director. It is understood the Ministry is keen on the amended Rules to specify that any candidate or applicant for the position of an IIM Director should possess a first-class degree at both the Bachelor’s and Master’s levels, in addition to a Ph.D or an equivalent qualification. Currently, under the unamended Rules, an IIM Director’s academic credentials are described as “a distinguished academic with a PhD or equivalent”.Govt identifies three grounds to dissolve IIM Boards: From ‘public interest’ to ‘persistent disobedience’, Indian Express |
If you haven’t already read our August Ed Set Go edition on this, now would be a great time to pick it up for a tidy little refresher on the subject.
That’s it for this week, we’ll be back next Monday with a full edition as usual. Do keep writing to edsetgo@the-ken.com with your thoughts and suggestions.
Source: https://the-ken.com/edsetgo/byjus-in-the-news-again/