In a strategic move, BYJU’S lenders have appointed Kroll, a risk and financial advisory solutions firm, to safeguard the charged assets belonging to Great Learning Education Pte. Ltd. and BYJU’S Pte. Ltd., the firm’s Singapore entity.
This development comes as BYJU’S is considering a potential sale of Great Learning, one of the two assets being considered, in order to settle the debt linked to a $1.2 billion term loan B owed to its lenders.
Cosimo Borrelli, global co-head of restructuring, and Jason Aleksander Kardachi, head of Kroll’s work in Singapore and South-East Asia, were appointed to safeguard the charged assets of Great Learning Education Pte. and BYJU’S Pte. Ltd. Charged assets are owned items with financial obligations; non-payment could result in the lender seizing them.
The appointment was made on behalf of secured creditors of BYJU’s Alpha Inc., as part of the secured lenders’ exercise of their security rights following defaults by BYJU’s Alpha Inc., Kroll said in a statement.
The statement added that a primary objective of this appointment is to protect and preserve the assets and businesses owned by Great Learning, including its subsidiary, Northwest Education Pte. Ltd. and BYJU’S Pte.
According to the risk and financial advisory solutions firm, the operations of Great Learning and Northwest Education are not impacted by the appointment.
Mohan Lakhamraju, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Great Learning, maintains his leadership position, overseeing the business and management team at the company.
Lakhamraju said, “I am happy to see the Kroll team’s commitment towards Great Learning’s high-quality education and continued growth and look forward to collaborating with them towards the realisation of our mission of enabling career success through transformative learning.”
YourStory has reached out to BYJU’S for a comment on this develolpment.
Last month, YourStory reported that BYJU’S is exploring the sale of two of its assets—Epic and Great Learning—to generate at least $800 million. The intended purpose of this sale is to repay the debt tied to a $1.2 billion term loan B.
The Byju Raveendran-led company has proposed an accelerated repayment plan to its lenders, offering to fully repay its $1.2 billion TLB within six months.
For nearly a year, both parties have been embroiled in a conflict, with multiple rounds of negotiations to amend the TLB agreement. BYJU’S and its lenders were expected to finalise a term loan amendment before August 3, 2023.
