How India's Byju's went from startup star to facing insolvency
Repeats item first carried late on Tuesday.
By Ashwin Manikandan
BENGALURU/MUMBAI, July 16 (Reuters) -Indian edtech company Byju's was staring at insolvency proceedings on Tuesday following a tribunal order, deepening a crisis that has seen the one-time market darling's valuation plunge from about $22 billion to less than $2 billion.
Here is an overview of Byju's and its troubles:
WHAT TRIGGERED THE INSOLVENCY?
The Indian cricket board last year asked a tribunal to initiate insolvency proceedings against Byju's for defaulting on $19 million of dues. The dispute is over payments related to sponsorship rights for the Indian cricket team's jerseys.
Byju's has said it wants to settle the matter, but a tribunal on Tuesday ruled in favour of the cricket board and appointed a resolution professional to oversee the company, suspending its board of directors.
WHAT'S THE TUSSLE WITH INVESTORS?
In February, a group of shareholders, including tech investor Prosus, alleged "financial mismanagement and compliance issues" at Byju's and called for the removal of founder and CEO Byju Raveendran, and a reconstitution of the board.
"We are deeply concerned about the future stability of the company under its current leadership and with the current constitution of the Board," the shareholders said.
Byju's, which has denied mismanagement, says the investors don't have the power to vote out its CEO.
In June, Prosus wrote off the value of its 9.6% stake in Byju's, making the Dutch firm the first to fully write-off its investment in the troubled startup.
WHY DID DELOITTE, BOARD MEMBERS RESIGN?
Last year, Deloitte said it was resigning as auditor because Byju's had delayed financial statements for the year ending March 31, 2022. Deloitte said it did not receive necessary documents even after writing several letters to the board.
Three board members of Byju's - representing investors Peak XV Partners (previously Sequoia Capital India), Prosus and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative - also stepped down.
WHAT DOES BYJU'S DO?
Byju's says it is the "world's largest education technology company". It offers online tutorials on subjects such as math, physics and chemistry for school students.
The online business boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Byju's valuation shot up from $5 billion before the pandemic to $22 billion in 2022, and it acquired several companies on the way.
WHO ARE BYJU'S FOUNDERS?
Byju's is run by its founder, Byju Raveendran, and his wife, Divya Gokulnath. Raveendran, an engineer by training whose parents were teachers, started teaching mathematics to friends, and built the business as its popularity grew.
He launched Byju's in 2011 and its app in 2015.
Reporting by Ashwin Manikandan in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Mark Potter
Ultime news
Disclaimer: le entità di XM Group forniscono servizi di sola esecuzione e accesso al nostro servizio di trading online, che permette all'individuo di visualizzare e/o utilizzare i contenuti disponibili sul sito o attraverso di esso; non ha il proposito di modificare o espandere le proprie funzioni, né le modifica o espande. L'accesso e l'utilizzo sono sempre soggetti a: (i) Termini e condizioni; (ii) Avvertenza sui rischi e (iii) Disclaimer completo. Tali contenuti sono perciò forniti a scopo puramente informativo. Nello specifico, ti preghiamo di considerare che i contenuti del nostro servizio di trading online non rappresentano un sollecito né un'offerta ad operare sui mercati finanziari. Il trading su qualsiasi mercato finanziario comporta un notevole livello di rischio per il tuo capitale.
Tutto il materiale pubblicato sul nostro servizio di trading online è unicamente a scopo educativo e informativo, e non contiene (e non dovrebbe essere considerato come contenente) consigli e raccomandazioni di carattere finanziario, di trading o fiscale, né informazioni riguardanti i nostri prezzi di trading, offerte o solleciti riguardanti transazioni che possano coinvolgere strumenti finanziari, oppure promozioni finanziarie da te non richieste.
Tutti i contenuti di terze parti, oltre ai contenuti offerti da XM, siano essi opinioni, news, ricerca, analisi, prezzi, altre informazioni o link a siti di terzi presenti su questo sito, sono forniti "così com'è", e vanno considerati come commenti generali sui mercati; per questo motivo, non possono essere visti come consigli di investimento. Dato che tutti i contenuti sono intesi come ricerche di investimento, devi considerare e accettare che non sono stati preparati né creati seguendo i requisiti normativi pensati per promuovere l'indipendenza delle ricerche di investimento; per questo motivo, questi contenuti devono essere considerati come comunicazioni di marketing in base alle leggi e normative vigenti. Assicurati di avere letto e compreso pienamente la nostra Notifica sulla ricerca di investimento non indipendente e la nostra Informativa sul rischio riguardante le informazioni sopra citate; tali documenti sono consultabili qui.
