OPPO Mobiles moves NCLT against Byju's

Once valued at over $22 billion, Byju’s has been unable to access the $200 million raised from its recent rights issue following a court order, even as dues owed to employees, debtors, and vendors have increased. (File Photo: AFP)

OPPO Mobiles Pvt Ltd, a Chinese electronics manufacturer, filed an insolvency plea on Wednesday against edtech firm Byju’s, aiming to recover its dues, joining a long line of operational creditors with cases against the struggling company.

The Section 9 plea, filed in the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), seeks to initiate a corporate insolvency resolution process against Byju’s under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016. Section 9 of the IBC allows an operational creditor to initiate an insolvency process due to a company’s default.

OPPO has not disclosed the amount Byju’s owes.

Byju’s has been given two weeks to respond to the matter, with the NCLT scheduled to hear the case next on 28 May.

Also Read | Mint Explainer: The mountain of legal cases that could bury Byju’s

OPPO is represented by Vruksha Law Chambers, while Byju’s legal representation is by MZM Legal.

A bench led by Justices K Biswal and Manoj Kumar Dubey is hearing a series of insolvency petitions against Byju’s, filed by various operational creditors including the BCCI, Teleperformance Business Services, Surfer Technologies, and OPPO.

During today’s hearing, Teleperformance Business Services, another operational creditor of Byju’s, informed the bench that settlement discussions with Byju’s are underway and progressing positively.

Teleperformance’s counsel requested additional time to finalize a settlement, with relevant documents to be submitted to the tribunal.

Byju’s counsel made a similar request.

The NCLT granted Teleperformance 15 days to reach a settlement with Byju’s, with a hearing scheduled for 28 May. If no settlement is reached, the matter will be heard on its merits.

On 18 April, Teleperformance had initiated insolvency proceedings after Byju’s defaulted on a ₹5 crore payment. Byju’s senior counsel, Promod Nair, requested additional time from the tribunal to reach a settlement, which was granted until 30 April.

In another case, NCLT has imposed a ₹20,000 fine on Byju’s for failing to reply to a petition filed by Surfer Technologies. Byju’s senior counsel informed the tribunal that a compliance affidavit had been filed regarding the cost. The NCLT granted Surfer Technologies two weeks to file a rejoinder in the matter.

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Byju’s troubles are manifold.

Once valued at over $22 billion, Byju’s has been unable to access the $200 million raised from its recent rights issue following a court order, even as dues owed to employees, debtors, and vendors have increased.

In April, Byju’s India chief executive Arjun Mohan stepped down seven months after taking office.

The online tutor had “one of its worst seasons” in the January-March quarter, when most sales are booked. Additionally, the company’s outstanding debt has mounted to more than $200 million in India and around $200-250 million in the US.

Also read: No rosy picture as Byju’s finally files its FY22 earnings.