lenders have reportedly asked for up to $200 million in prepayment and a higher rate of interest from the edtech firm as a precondition to restructure its $1.2-billion term loan B.
The Economic Times has reported that the edtech firm has offered to increase the interest rate by around 200 basis points, but it is yet to agree on the lenders’ prepayment condition.
Prepayment is becoming a sticking point in discussions, with some lenders unwilling to play ball, but the lenders may eventually agree to lower the amount of payment, the report added.
YourStory has reached out to BYJU’S for a comment. This story will be updated with the company’s response.
As part of renegotiating its debt financing arrangements, BYJU’S last month offered to raise the interest rate on its $1.2-billion term loan B to its lenders. The negotiation of a higher interest rate is the result of lenders recalling loans caused by a delay in furnishing audited financials for FY21, according to another report by The Economic Times.
The revisions are also linked with the FY22 financials, which are yet to be filed with the Registrar of Companies. The edtech firm’s FY21 financials were filed after an 18-month delay with regular accounting bodies in India.
The lenders have also requested that the firm produce biweekly reports on its financial status, the recent report by The Economic Times noted, adding that BYJU’S now has $650 million in foreign accounts and around $183 million in liquid money in India.
BYJU’S is set to raise $700 million in fresh funding, at a flat valuation of $22 billion. The fresh funding round, which is in the final stages, may be closed in the next one to two weeks.
According to one of the provisions of the agreement, at least $400 million – $500 million has been set aside for debt payments, The Financial Express reported.
BYJU’S last raised $250 million in a funding round from its existing investors, including Qatar Investment Authority, in October 2022, after picking up $800 million from Blackrock, Sumeru Ventures, and others in March. It also took on an unsecured loan of Rs 300 crore from Aakash in October last year.
The startup, which was last valued at $22 billion, reported a loss of Rs 4,564.38 crore in FY21, higher than its FY20 loss, which stood at Rs 305.5 crore.
