BCCI takes BYJU’S to National Company Law Tribunal over ?150cr dues

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has initiated insolvency proceedings against BYJU’S for defaulting on sponsorship dues reportedly worth ?150 crore even as the troubled edtech major is said to have been in talks with the cricket board to settle the matter.

The Indian cricket board has filed the application against Think & Learn Pvt Ltd—the parent company of BYJU’S—under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, before the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The insolvency application was filed on September 8, registered on November 15, and is next listed for December 22. Mumbai-based law firm Argus Partners is advising the BCCI on the case.

BYJU’S, the official jersey sponsor of all Indian national cricket teams until March earlier this year, had renewed its deal with the BCCI for a whopping US$55 million in June last year. However, financial woes, coupled with the slowdown in the funding market, forced the company to cut down on expensive sponsorship deals. It had replaced mobile handset brand Oppo as the Team India jersey sponsor in July 2019.

Faiza Dhanani, a partner at law firm Cue Legal, said: 

“Byju’s has time and the option to settle the dues and amicably resolve the matter with BCCI. The amount is very minuscule compared to the investments that the startup has received, and to save that investment, some of the investors might also have to help the startup settle the dues with the cricket board.”