Byju Raveendran, founder of crisis-hit edtech giant, has alleged that predatory debt buyers are attempting a “hostile takeover” of his company through bankruptcy proceedings. He claimed that they purchased distressed loans at deep discounts to seize control of his once-$22 billion start-up.
In a LinkedIn post on July 29, the day marking one year since Think & Learn Pvt (Byju’s operator) entered insolvency proceedings, Raveendran claimed that the bankruptcy was triggered despite the company being up to date on interest payments. He described the default as “technical”, while attributing it to delays in audit filings rather than financial distress.
“…this was not a routine insolvency. This was a corporate raid. A hostile takeover bid by opportunistic secondary debt buyers, masquerading as lenders, trying to double their money by destroying a company. I encourage everyone….because what happened to Byju’s can happened to anyone,” he wrote.
“The so-called lenders bought the loan at deep discounts in the secondary market. The credit agreement explicitly disqualified such distressed asset funds from asserting control. Yet, through collusion and procedural manipulation, they seized control of BYJU’S US subsidiary and unleashed chaos,” he added.
Raveendran said he and his family injected over $800 million of personal funds to keep the company operating. He further intends to pursue $2.5 billion in damages from what he described as “financial predators”, accusing them of eroding the company’s value and harming the interests of 85,000 employees and 250 million students.
Byju's Legal Troubles
Byju's is currently embroiled in a complex legal battle, which involves multiple lawsuits and insolvency proceedings, both in India and the US. The conflict revolves around $1.2 billion raised via Byju's Alpha, a US-based special purpose vehicle.
While lenders claim that $533 million was unlawfully siphoned off, Byju’s founders have hit back with a $2.5 billion countersuit, accusing the creditors of damaging the company’s reputation.
The US and India have emerged as parallel arenas for this high‑stakes drama. Byju’s legal team is handling concurrent actions in multiple jurisdictions.
In India, the founders are challenging the removal of Glas Trust from the Committee of Creditors in insolvency proceedings, a matter currently before the Supreme Court of India. It is in that same court the founders have lodged their “$2.5 billion damages claim".
Simultaneously, in Delaware’s US Bankruptcy Court, where Byju’s Alpha Inc faces insolvency petitions, the lawsuit targets the trustee for Term Loan B lenders, seeking to reverse judgments authorising the seizure of assets and subsidiary control.
Byju’s US arm filed for Chapter 11 protection in January 2024, the bankruptcy court has overseen asset sales (notably the June 2025 distress sales of Epic! and Tynker) and imposed contempt sanctions (“$10,000 daily fines” on director Riju Ravindran for alleged fraudulent transfers).
