Chaudhry may return as Aakash CEO, nears stock-swap deal with Byju’s
economictimes.indiatimes.comAakash Chaudhry — the promoter of Aakash Institute — is likely to return as the chief executive officer of the company as part of a broader arrangement being finalised with its owner Byju’s, multiple people aware of the matter said.
Chaudhry is also in final stages of talks to close the stock-swap deal with Byju’s as part of the acquisition announced about two years ago, the people said. He would replace incumbent Abhishek Maheshwari who left Aakash Institute last month.
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Offering CollegeCourseWebsiteIndian School of BusinessISB Product ManagementVisitIndian School of BusinessISB Professional Certificate in Product ManagementVisitIndian School of BusinessISB Digital TransformationVisitNorthwestern UniversityKellogg Post Graduate Certificate in Product ManagementVisitChaudhry served as the CEO till November 2020 as part of the founding family that ran Aakash Institute independently. “The talks to resolve the shareholding issue have been underway for a while and as per current discussions, Chaudhry is likely to end up with around 8% in Think and Learn (parent of Byju’s) while he will retain around 9% in Aakash,” one of the persons cited above said, requesting anonymity. The transaction is expected to be finalised this month, the person added.
Post the transaction, Think and Learn will likely own at least 51% in Aakash. Private equity firm Blackstone currently has around 12%, while promoters, the Chaudhry family, hold an 18% stake in Aakash. “The return as CEO is linked to the stock-swap plan and that’s how it’s being worked out,” a second person said.
Emails sent to Byju’s and Aakash Institute did not elicit any response till press time on Sunday.
Byju’s had
