White knight in control? Ranjan Pai seen setting course at Aakash
Ranjan Pai may set the tone in all further decision-making at Byju’s coaching arm Aakash Institute, having emerged a white knight in the internecine battle at the edtech firm, people in the know said.
Byju’s investors are reconciled to his acquisition of 40% in Aakash, the people said, adding that the Manipal Education and Medical Group chairman has also invested an additional Rs 250 crore as working capital and to pay salaries.
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Offering CollegeCourseWebsiteIndian School of BusinessISB Product ManagementVisitIIM LucknowIIML Executive Programme in FinTech, Banking & Applied Risk ManagementVisitIndian School of BusinessISB Professional Certificate in Product ManagementVisit <div data-placement=«Mid Article Thumbnails» data-target_type=«mix» data-mode=«thumbnails-mid» style=«min-height:400px; margin-bottom:12px;» class=«wdt-taboola» id=«taboola-mid-article-thumbnails-107973719»>Investors in the edtech group’s parent, Think & Learn, have held discussions with Pai after a legal notice was issued to him by a top investor, Prosus, over conversion of $250-300 million (Rs 2,072-2,486 crore) debt into equity at Aakash.
The coaching chain is the only profit centre with Byju’s now. All of Pai’s investments are in Aakash Institute, none in Think & Learn.
“It’s clear Pai has put in a significant amount of personal capital, and (Byju’s investors) are increasingly aligning with him being involved in all key strategic decision-making at Aakash,” one person said. “All investors were informed before the conversion, which was also clear during the payout of the Davidson Kempner loan.”
Pai declined to comment on talks with investors or his latest cash infusion in Aakash.
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