BUSINESS
Byju's CEO assures employees: We're in a tough phase, will bounce back
Byju Raveendran further told employees that the company’s ongoing discussions with its term loan B lenders due to the recent issues are progressing well. “These discussions have taken a significant turn and we will get positive development within weeks,” he said.
BUSINESS
Lenskart-backer Epiq Capital raises $225 million in Fund II, to double down on India investments
Epiq Capital plans to invest in about 8-12 companies with an average cheque size of around $20-25 million. It manages assets worth $300 million and the cumulative valuation of its nine companies is around $15 billion
BUSINESS
Byju's clears 97% dues after EPFO probe into delayed PF payments
Byju’s told EPFO that it has deposited PF dues for the period between August 2022 and May 2023 worth Rs 123.1 crore and will remit the rest Rs 3.43 crore in the next two days
BUSINESS
Prosus reduces Byju's fair value further to $5.1 billion
Byju's was last officially valued at over $22 billion in October 2022, when it raised a $250 million funding round. In November, Prosus first slashed the fair value of Byju's to $5.97 billion
BUSINESS
Byju’s employees need not worry, EPFO will ensure they get their money: Board member
Raghunathan’s comments come a day after Moneycontrol reported that Byju’s has delayed payments for almost all employees since October last year.
BUSINESS
Byju’s courts trouble with EPFO over delay in PF payments
Byju’s, which is India’s most-valued startup, has been making PF contributions with a lag of almost three to four months, according to data sourced from EPFO by Moneycontrol.
BUSINESS
Behind the scenes: What happened between Byju’s and board members?
The directors may have wanted to avoid the liabilities associated with the delay in filing FY22 financials, which typically leads to a penalty being levied on them and damages their reputation.
BUSINESS
Byju’s CFO was tasked with changing auditor amid deteriorating ties with Deloitte, sources say
While an auditor stepping down is a red flag for a company, Deloitte’s resignation was in the works after relations broke down between the big four audit giant and Byju’s.
BUSINESS
Three Byju's board members resign due to differences with founder Byju Raveendran
G V Ravishankar of Sequoia Capital (Peak XV Partners), Vivian Wu of Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Russell Dreisenstock of Prosus have resigned, leaving Riju Ravindran, Byju Raveendran, and Divya Gokulnath as the remaining members to sit on the board of directors of Byju’s.
BUSINESS
L Catterton to pick up minority stake in pet-food company Drools for $60 million
The deal, if it goes through, will mark another retail bet for the PE firm in India after ethnic wear and home decor company FabIndia, and beauty-care startup Sugar
BUSINESS
Byju's employees handed pink slips as tensions with lenders rise
Byju's Layoff: The move to start laying off over 1,000 permanent staff across departments comes a couple of weeks after the company skipped paying $40 million in interest on a term loan B (TLB) it had raised in November 2021
BUSINESS
Exclusive: SoftBank looks to book gains in Paytm, Zomato, may sell shares in open market
SoftBank is likely to sell shares in the two startups in smaller tranches in the open market, rather than through block deals, sources have said
BUSINESS
Lightspeed-backed Frontrow mulls sale or shutdown, months after layoffs, restart
The company’s backers including Lightspeed Venture Partners are looking for potential acquirers for the company, sources said, adding that if these talks fall through, the company might consider to close its operations.
BUSINESS
Byju’s lenders dismiss one-on-one talks as they demand for group discussion
A source close to the company, however, said that Byju's has already begun one-on-one calls with lenders. Byju's has held discussions with at least five lenders already, and plans to hold discussions with the rest over the course of the week, the source said
BUSINESS
Byju's braces for crucial week as lender calls loom amid rising tensions
The edtech company plans talks with lenders to arrive at a mutually agreeable resolution.
BUSINESS
Tech IPOs unlikely in next 12-18 months despite benchmark indices hitting new highs
In the last six months, Mamaearth parent Honasa Consumer is the sole VC-backed unicorn to have submitted draft papers to SEBI. Following the IPOs of Zomato, Paytm, PB Fintech and others, companies have realised that public shareholders have different perceptions of their businesses and valuations as compared to private investors.
BUSINESS
Indian unicorns cut back on employee appraisals as cost-cutting takes priority
About three in 10 Indian unicorns have set aside a minimal to zero budget for increments this year.
BUSINESS
MC Interview | Global profit-sharing agreement dissolved, will double down on India: Peak XV's Shailendra Singh
The profit pooling with Sequoia US will cease to exist post the rebranding. Peak XV will also likely enter the US to help Indian startups expand in the country, an indication that the India division will be run completely independent of Sequoia US.
BUSINESS
WestBridge Capital buys majority stake in Tamil Nadu-based Kovai Pazhamudhir Nilayam
The deal values KPN at Rs 800 crore, with WestBridge picking up a nearly 70 percent stake in an all-cash deal for about Rs 550-600 crore
BUSINESS
Soonicorns wait in queue as India’s unicorn drought exceeds 8 months
Valuations have moderated this year as investors become more discriminating about deals and ask more questions.
BUSINESS
There is no real ecosystem for deep tech in India: Accel’s Prashanth Prakash
Prakash’s comments come at a time when deep tech innovations in India are on the rise and are attracting investments from venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) firms.
BUSINESS
Fidelity knocks Gupshup out of unicorn league, marks down fair value to $ 957mn
The latest SEC filings of Fidelity show that the US-based AMC slashed the fair value of Gupshup by 31.6 percent. This effectively pegs the valuation of the company at $957 million, down from its last valuation of $1.4 billion
BUSINESS
Fidelity Investments cuts SoftBank-backed Meesho's fair value by 10%
The markdown effectively values the social commerce startup at $4.4 billion.
BUSINESS
Atomberg raises $86 million in funding led by Temasek, Steadview Capital at $400-450 million valuation
Atomberg plans to use the funds to boost manufacturing capabilities, support new product launches, and deepen its presence in offline stores in key regions.
