Byju's to hold board meeting on Dec 20 amid pending dues

New Delhi, Dec 5: Embattling edtech unicorn Byju's parent company Think and Learn Private Limited will hold its 11th annual general meeting on December 20, as it faces myriad of issues amid severe cash crunch.

The meeting has been called to approve and adopt the audited financial statements of the company for their financial year ended March 2022, together with the report of the board of directors and auditors.

The meeting will also consider and approve the appointment of MSKA & Associates as statutory auditors of the company.

Meanwhile, Byju's founder and CEO Byju Raveendran reportedly called an urgent meeting on Tuesday with senior management amid the delicate liquidity situation, as it struggles to pay salaries of its employees.

According to sources, Byju's needs at least Rs 500-Rs 600 crore to pay off dues of employees and vendors, along with the income tax department and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The BCCI has taken Think & Learn, the parent company of Byju's, to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

The BCCI claimed that the edtech firm has defaulted payment of Rs 158 crore. The NCLT has granted a period of two weeks to Byju’s to file reply in the case and another week thereafter to BCCI to file rejoinder.

Meanwhile, Raveendran has reportedly pledged his home, as well as those owned by his family members, to raise money for paying employees amid a cash crunch. According to Bloomberg, citing sources, two homes owned by Raveendran's family in Bengaluru, and his under-construction villa in the city — were offered as collateral to borrow $12 million to pay salaries to employees.

"The startup used the funds to pay salaries to 15,000 employees in Byju's parent firm, Think & Learn Pvt Ltd," the report added.

Byju’s on Monday paid pending salaries of some of its employees after a "technical glitch" hampered the payment of some 1,000 workers.