Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has filed a petition to the Karnataka High Court to freeze the assets of Byju Raveendran, the founder of the eponymous edtech firm Byju’s.
In the fundraising round in October 2022 that closed at $250 million which included QIA, the company was estimated to be $22 billion
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has filed a petition to the Karnataka High Court to freeze the assets of Byju Raveendran, the founder of the eponymous edtech firm Byju’s.
Qatar's Sovereign wealth fund looks to claim Raveendran’s personal assets worth up to Rs 235.19 million under Section 9 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 as per media reports.
The court filing as reported by the media stated that QIA wanted to “pass an order of injunction restraining Respondent No. 1 (Byju Raveendran), including his servants, agents, and assigns, from in any manner dealing with, parting with, selling, charging, pledging, transferring, disposing of, alienating, or encumbering, or in any manner creating any right, title, or interest in any of their assets.”
Byju’s, over the years, has been plagued with issues relating to severe crash crunch, delays in financial reporting, and legal disputes between lenders and investors.
Recently, NCLT initiated an insolvency resolution process on Byju’s, officially known as Think and Learn Pvt Ltd. It was based on a petition filed by BCCI for the unpaid due worth estimated to be Rs 158.90 crore as per reports.
The edtech firm is also caught up in a tussle with investors including Investors Prosus, General Atlantic, Sofina, and Peak XV over $200 million worth of rights issue.
The investors have sought a stay, challenging the valuation at less than 99 percent of Byju’s peak valuation of $22 billion alleging mismanagement.
QIA had invested in the edtech firm in 2019 and 2022. It was part of a plan to foray into West Asia and Northern Africa providing education to students focusing on cutting edge technology with impetus to research.
In the fundraising round in October 2022 that closed at $250 million, including investors QIA, the company was estimated to be $22 billion.