Amid Controversies & Confusion, BYJU’S CEO Asks Employees To ‘Rise Above The Noise’

At a virtual town hall of edtech giant BYJU’S, CEO Byju Raveendran assured the employees that the company would be alright even as the edtech firm continues to fight a war on multiple fronts.

Incidentally, the chat function at the virtual town hall was disabled, sources told Inc42.

Raveendran told the employees that four of the six acquisitions made by the edtech giant are profitable and asked them to ‘rise above the noise’. While Inc42 is yet to verify the entities, it surely includes BYJU’S offline coaching classes vertical, Aakash. 

Speaking more on the financial health of the company, the CEO added that the edtech giant is close to achieving profitability at the group level and asked employees to not pay attention to media speculations. He added that BYJU’S is now growing slowly but sustainably and most of its business verticals are in good shape, according to Inc42 sources.

Raveendran reassured the employees that the rise of the edtech  sector is not a ‘pandemic phenomenon’ but a permanent fixture in education.

He concluded the townhall expressing optimism for the future and emphasised that “the best of BYJU’S is yet to come”. He highlighted that the company has “not come this far to only come this far.”

The reassurance from BYJU’S CEO comes at a time when the edtech major is working overtime putting out fires across the board.

Over the past few days, BYJU’S has seen three of its board members and its statutory auditor resign, another reported round of layoffs and reports of forced resignations along with reports of the company delaying provident fund (PF) payments.

Addressing the resignation of three board members, Raveendran assured the employees that the departures of three board members are unrelated to Deloitte’s resignation, sources told Inc42. He also assured that their exit was amicable and carried out with mutual understanding, the sources added.

At the same time, it continues to be embroiled in a legal tussle with the creditors of its $1.2 Bn Term Loan B. Earlier this month, BYJU’S sued Redwood, a major stakeholder in the edtech’s TLB, and its associates, in the New York Supreme Court.

The edtech also skipped the $40 Mn payment towards the TLB and does not intend to make further payments until a verdict is reached.

Speaking at the town hall, Raveendran added that the TLB dispute is being resolved through ‘constructive discussions’. He added that the company is confident about achieving a positive outcome in the next few weeks without court intervention. 

Recently, however, the edtech got some breathing space after a favourable verdict on the lawsuit filed by its TLB creditors in Delaware, while it also raised $250 Mn in debt funding from Davidson Kempner (though the money is yet to hit the bank).

BYJU’S is also in conversation with new investors to raise another $1 Bn from new investors.