By Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Indian education technology company Byju’s will challenge insolvency proceedings initiated against it in an attempt to block the process this week, as the startup once valued at $22 billion tries to tide over the crisis, two sources said on Wednesday.
The National Company Law Tribunal in the southern state of Karnataka on Tuesday ordered insolvency proceedings against the company after a complaint by the cricket board for not paying $19 million in dues. A court-appointed professional is currently running the company.
Byju’s has suffered numerous setbacks in recent years, including boardroom exits and a tussle with investors who accused CEO Byju Raveendran of corporate governance lapses, job cuts and a collapse in its valuation to less than $2 billion. Byju’s has denied any wrongdoing.
An appeal will be filed in the companies law appeals tribunal in New Delhi this week, the sources said. Settlement talks are ongoing with the Indian cricket board but the company wants to block the insolvency process, said one of the sources.
Byju’s did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Aditya Kalra, Writing by Arpan Chaturvedi; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Kim Coghill)
