Byju's lenders appoint Kroll to safeguard assets of Great Learning, Singapore entity

Kroll appointed to safeguard Byju's Singapore assets

Byju's lenders have appointed risk advisory firm Kroll to safeguard "charged assets" (or assets used as collateral to secure a loan, allowing the lender to seize them if the borrower defaults) of Great Learning Pte and Byju's Singapore entity, at a time when the edtech giant is exploring a potential sale of Great Learning.

Cosimo Borrelli, global co-head of restructuring, and Jason Aleksander Kardachi, Kroll's Singapore head, were appointed to safeguard the charged assets of Great Learning Education Pte Ltd and Byju’s Pte Ltd, the advisory firm said in a statement on October 11.

The appointment was made on behalf of secured creditors of Byju's Alpha Inc, as part of the secured lenders’ exercise of their security rights following defaults by Byju's Alpha Inc, the firm said.

Byju's declined to comment.

Byju's lenders have charge over 60 percent of Great Learning and they want to ensure they get the right price for it, particularly in the case of a management buyout, a source said requesting anonymity. Last week, a Mint report said that Mohan Lakhimraju, founder and CEO of Great Learning was looking to buyout the firm. Lakhimraju may look to raise funds from private equity firms to fund the buyout, the source said.

Kroll said a primary focus of its appointment was to protect and preserve the assets and businesses owned by Great Learning (including its subsidiary, Northwest Education Pte Ltd and Byju's Pte. The operations of Great Learning and Northwest Education will not be impacted by the appointment and all courses and programs offered by these businesses continue as usual, the firm added.

Kroll is working closely with the management of Great Learning and Northwest Education to ensure the continuation of their courses and Mohan Lakhimraju will continue to head Great Learning, it said.

"I am happy to see the Kroll team's commitment towards Great Learning's high-quality education and continued growth and look forward to collaborating with them towards the realisation of our mission of enabling career success through transformative learning," said Lakhimraju in a statement.

The move to appoint an advisory firm to safeguard the assets of Great Learning comes at a time when Byju's has been looking to raise about $800 million to $1 billion by selling Great Learning and book reading platform Epic to repay the term loan B. Byju's had sent a proposal to the lenders in September to repay the entire loan within six months, with an upfront payment of $300 million by December.

To be sure, Byju's has been facing a liquidity crunch for some time now as the company has not managed to close a much-anticipated funding round, which it has been eyeing since the start of the year. The company is also restructuring businesses to cut costs and has laid off close to 10,000 people this year alone, besides giving up its office space in cities like Bengaluru and Delhi NCR.