NCLT admits insolvency proceedings against Byju’s

BENGALURU: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Bengaluru bench, on Tuesday admitted an insolvency petition filed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)against edtech firm Byju’s over a Rs 158 crore debt.

Byju’s, reached its peak valuation of $22 billion in 2022, has to face insolvency proceedings.

The bench has appointed Pankaj Srivastava as an interim resolution professional to oversee the functions of the company. According to sources, Byju’s is planning to challenge the order at National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). “As we have always maintained, we wish to reach an amicable settlement with the BCCI and we are confident that, despite this order, a settlement can be reached. In the meantime, our lawyers are reviewing the order and will take necessary steps to protect the Company’s interests,” a spokesperson from Byju’s said.

Both BCCI and Byju’s entered into a team sponsor agreement in 2019, and in 2022, Byju’s made payment in full only against one invoice for the year 2022-2023. The edtech firm failed to make payments against the remaining invoices raised by the BCCI for the financial year 2022-23.

The NCLT dismissed an application by the edtech firm to refer the matter to arbitration. “It is abundantly clear as laid down by the Apex Court that the Adjudicating Authority has to either reject or admit the application and cannot postulate a third option. In this matter, the application U/s 9 of the IBC has been admitted by the Order passed today, therefore, the application for referring the matter for Arbitration is not maintainable,” the order said.