Byju’s, Davidson Kempner in talks to settle dispute

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Davidson Kempner Capital have begun negotiations to settle their dispute over the breach of a loan covenant linked to the Indian edtech company’s test preparation subsidiary, Aakash Institute. According to people directly aware of the ongoing negotiations, Byju’s has offered to repay the funds it has so far availed of from the sanctioned loan, along with the interest on that amount.

Davidson Kempner (DK), however, is seeking interest on the entire amount for a period of one-two years instead of a quarter as proposed by the edtech firm’s founder, Byju Raveendran, they said.Also read |Davidson Kempner sends legal notice to Byju's arm Aakash for loan covenant breach “The talks are centred on the exact pay-out,” said a person in the know. “It will depend on what both parties agree on, eventually.

It is also possible the final settlement pay-out could be somewhere in between,” he added. “DK essentially wants to get its money out of Byju’s and close the episode,” another person said.Also read | Byju’s yet to receive entire Rs 2,000 crore from Davidson Kempner A formal proposal by the two parties is expected this week, the persons said.

Meanwhile, Manipal group chairman Ranjan Pai has finalised an investment of around $80 million in Aakash which will be used to repay DK, the people said. Pai will be buying a stake in Aakash from Raveendran, they said.

An email sent to Byju’s did not elicit any response till press time Monday while a spokesperson for DK said it won't comment on the matter. Pai declined to comment.Also read | More trouble for Byju’s as three board members, auditor Deloitte resignMeetings with Lenders Currently, Raveendran owns a nearly 70% stake in Aakash — personally and through Byju’s parent Think & Learn Pvt