NCLT Bangalore: BCCI Files Petition U/S 9 IBC Against Byju’s Over Unpaid Dues.

The Board of Control and Cricket in India (“BCCI”) has 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 has been filed under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, (“IBC”) against the parent company of Byju’s i.e., Think & Learn Pvt Ltd. The case was initially filed on 8th September 2023 and was registered on November 15. BCCI has been represented by Argus Partners. The next hearing is scheduled for December 22 and is to be heard by Justice K Biswal and Manoj Dubey. Byju's had earlier signed three large branding partnerships with BCCI, the International Cricket Council (“ICC”), and Federation Internationale de Football Association (“FIFA”). It took over the sponsorship of the Indian cricket team in 2019 from OPPO until the end of March 2022. Following this, BYJU’s requested an extension of the sponsorship until the end of 2023, reportedly for a total of $55 million. However, in December 2022, BYJU’S abruptly terminated its jersey sponsorship deal with the BCCI due to financial troubles amidst the challenging funding environment in the Indian startup ecosystem. Currently, Dream11 is the new sponsor of the jersey for Team India in a deal that has cost the company Rs 358 Crore to replace Byju’s. BCCI had announced it was looking for a new jersey sponsor after its deal with Byju’s ended abruptly. BYJU’s over the last few months has been in limelight for all the wrong reasons. The edtech company has been practising a cost-cutting exercise due to lack of funds and has approximately laid off over 5,000 employees since 2022 and about 4,000 more are expected to be laid off. Recently, the Enforcement Directorate (“ED”) has also issued a show cause notice of Rs 9,362 Crore to Think & Learn, the parent company of Byju, and its founder Byju Raveendran for alleged violations of foreign exchange rules from 2011 to 2023. It is noteworthy that after the various acquisitions by Biju’s the startup has recorded a nearly 20X year-on-year (YoY) surge in net loss to Rs. 4,588 Crores in the fiscal year 2020-21 (FY21), while revenue was almost flat at Rs. 2,280 Crores. Additionally, Byju is also entangled in a dispute with lenders in the US over a missed interest payment on a $1.2 billion term loan B. To address financial challenges, Byju decided to sell two key assets, Epic and Great Learning, aiming to generate $800 million-$1 billion in cash. The top levels have already exited the company, including the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and India CEO. However, Byju’s has claimed to be in the middle of payment clearances, and settlement over unpaid dues owed to BCCI. Case Title: The Board and Control for Cricket in India Vs Think & Learn Pvt ltd Case No.: CP(IB) No. 149/BB/2023

NCLT Bangalore: BCCI Files Petition U/S 9 IBC Against Byju’s Over Unpaid Dues.

Pragya Kriti

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