Embattled edtech firm Byju‘s has reached a settlement with France-based Teleperformance Business Services, as disclosed to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on June 26. This marks the second relief for the company on the same day.
The insolvency court has instructed Teleperformance to file a memorandum indicating its intention to withdraw the insolvency plea in light of the settlement, to formally close the case.
Earlier in the day, Indian law enforcement agencies cleared the struggling online-education startup of financial fraud but noted certain lapses in corporate governance.
The NCLT had repeatedly urged Byju’s to settle with Teleperformance within a week, warning that failure to do so would result in the tribunal hearing the case on its merits and issuing an order accordingly.
The NCLT had issued a notice to Byju’s on February 7, in response to an insolvency plea filed by Teleperformance. Byju’s had utilized services from outsourcing agencies such as Teleperformance, Cogent E Services, and iEnergizer until mid-2022. These companies provided calling agents to Byju’s, which discontinued the services of Teleperformance and Cogent E to cut costs amid mounting troubles.
Teleperformance had entered into a service agreement with Byju’s in April 2022, raising over 20 invoices amounting to over Rs 4 crore between March and August 2023, which went unpaid. Byju’s did not dispute the claims and admitted to defaulting on the payments.
Teleperformance stated that Byju’s agreed to pay the amount in three tranches: Rs 1.5 crore in the first tranche, Rs 2 crore in the second, and Rs 2.2 crore in the final tranche. While Byju’s has settled with Teleperformance, it remains involved in nearly 10 similar proceedings with other operational and financial creditors.
On February 6, the NCLT issued a notice in an insolvency plea filed by digital marketing firm Surfer Technologies against Byju’s. On February 28, Byju’s received another notice in a plea filed by US-based non-bank loan agency Glas Trust Company LLC, seeking to admit the company to the insolvency resolution process.
This development marks a critical step for Byju’s as it navigates its financial and operational challenges.
