Byju's schedules call for lenders to discuss loan amendment proposal

Byju's didn't pay $40 million in interest due Monday on its $1.2 billion loan

By Reshmi Basu

Byju’s reached out to a broad group of lenders after it elected to skip an interest payment on its dollar loan amid escalating tensions with its creditors, according to people with knowledge of the matter. 
 

The company scheduled a call for lenders on Monday to discuss an amendment proposal, the people said, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. Details of the proposal will be shared ahead of the call, they added. 

Byju’s didn’t immediately respond to messages left outside of normal business hours. 

Byju’s, an Indian education-technology company, didn’t pay $40 million in interest due Monday on its $1.2 billion loan. The firm, led by Byju Raveendran, filed a lawsuit over the payment in New York state court.

The $1.2 billion obligation is the largest unrated loan by a startup ever. The once high-flying company had been trying to strike a deal with creditors to restructure the loan, after the decline of the pandemic-era boom in online tutoring dealt a blow to its finances. 

But restructuring talks fell apart when creditors demanded an accelerated repayment, Bloomberg reported last week. The lender consortium has signed a cooperation agreement that binds them to act together in negotiations, Bloomberg reported. 

The loan is now quoted at around 64.5 cents, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

The firm missed a deadline to file audited financial results and its offices were searched by India’s anti-money laundering investigation agency.