Byju’s lenders move to put Singapore unit in receivership after default

A lender-appointed receiver has taken steps to assume control of a Byju’s unit following months of failed restructuring negotiations and a loan default, according to people with knowledge of the matter. 

The receiver, Kroll Pte. Limited, said in a statement Wednesday that it appointed two restructuring experts “to safeguard the charged assets” of Great Learning Education Pte. Ltd. and  Byju’s Pte. Ltd. Lenders were told this week that Kroll placed Great Learning into receivership in Singapore and replaced certain Byju’s board members with representatives from Kroll, the people said.   

Mohan Lakhamraju, the founder and chief executive officer of Great Learning, is continuing to lead the company, according to the statement. 

Kroll said it appointed Cosimo Borrelli and Jason Aleksander Kardachi to oversee the assets, “as part of the secured lenders’ exercise of their security rights following defaults by BYJU’s Alpha Inc.” Borrelli serves as Kroll’s global co-head of restructuring, while Kardachi leads the company’s restructuring work in Singapore and South East Asia. 

“We are working with our partners, including Great Learning management and TLB lenders, for a potential divestment of the company at optimal value. This, we believe, will allow Great Learning’s future growth as an independent company,” a representative for Byju’s said in an email

A representative for Byju’s lenders referred Bloomberg to Kroll’s statement. A representative for Glas Trust didn’t respond to requests for comment. 

Byju’s and its lenders have been mired in a prolonged restructuring conflict now playing out in multiple countries. Lenders in September accused Byju’s of allegedly hiding $533 million in a an obscure three-year-old Florida-based hedge fund, Camshaft Capital Fund. Meanwhile, multiple rounds of negotiations to revamp the company’s loan agreement have failed.