US-based Glas Trust Company registers insolvency case against Byju's at NCLT

Fourth insolvency plea filed against Byju's

US-based non-bank loan agency Glas Trust Company LLC on February 21 registered an insolvency plea against ed tech giant Byju's at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Bengaluru.

Glas trust is the administrative agent for the lenders and collateral agent for the secured parties. The company represents foreign lenders, who collectively extended more than 85 percent of Byju’s $1.2-billion term loan to Byju's.

Moneycontrol had on January 25 reported that foreign lenders had moved the NCLT in Bengaluru against the ed tech giant.

This is the fourth insolvency plea filed against the company in less than six months. Though the plea was filed on January 22 it was registered on the file of NCLT on February 21.

Any proceedings by lenders before the NCLT are premature and baseless, Byju’s said. “As we have stated before, the validity of lenders’ actions, including acceleration of the term loan, is pending and under challenge in several proceedings, including before the New York Supreme Court,” the Bengaluru-based ed tech company said in response to a query on January 25. It also highlighted that the timing of the lenders’ proceedings coincides with the commencement of a rights issue by the company.

Earlier today, Byju's founder and CEO Byju Raveendran said in a shareholder letter that the company's rights issue to raise $200 million at a valuation cut of 99 percent has been fully subscribed.

Other insolvency pleas against Byju's:

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), France-based Teleperformance Business Services, and digital marketing firm Surfer Technologies have all filed separate insolvency pleas against Byju's.

The NCLT has issued notice in all the insolvency petitions filed against the ed tech giant.

BCCI's plea came up for hearing for the first time in November 2023, while the other pleas came up for hearing in February 2024. While BCCI has contended that Byju's owes them over Rs 150 crore, Surfer and Teleperformance have contended that the company owes that Rs 4 crore and Rs 2.3 crore respectively.

BCCI's petition is expected to come up for hearing on February 28, while Surfer's and Teleperformance's plea is expected to come up for hearing in March 2024.