Problems for Indian ed-tech start-up Byju's seem to be never-ending. The company along with it’s lenders missed the August 3 timeline to renegotiate the terms on a $1.2 billion loan on Thursday. A committee formally announced on July 24 the timeline for deciding the loan terms with Byju's as August 3. The committee is made up of ad hoc term loan lenders, who together own more than 85 per cent of Byju’s $1.2 billion term loan. Both parties were supposed to work together towards a signed and completed term loan agreement (the “Amendment”) before August 3.
A report by Moneycontrol quoting sources said the loan amendment process is moving “in the right direction”, but both the parties have not been able to finalise the decision yet. The sources told Moneycontrol that the lenders wanted to finalise the changes before the August 3 deadline, but the ed-tech never committed to the timeline. Founder Byju Raveendran is expected to be on call with the lenders next week. Both parties hope to reach an agreement, the report stated.
Also Read : SEBI Puts National Securities Depository Ltd's IPO In Abeyance
A spokesperson for Byju’s further added, “The discussions are going on and it's progressing well in the right direction and expected to close at the earliest. In fact, the next meeting with the lenders is scheduled early next week. No deadline has been missed as August 3rd was merely a hopeful date that was likely to be scheduled for a sign-off.”
The committee had officially noted, “Successful execution of the amendment would immediately solve for the loan’s acceleration and end all open litigation while avoiding further enforcement actions,”, cited the report.
Earlier in November, 2021, Byju’s raised $1.2 billion in debt via term loan B (TLB) from some international investors. Ever since December 2022, there have been problems brewing between both sides. Negotiations completely stalled once creditors sued the company in May this year, accusing the start-up of hiding $500 million from them.