Byju's CEO, Byju Ravindran, Pledges Personal Assets To Pay Employees' Salaries

Byju Ravindran, founder and CEO of Cash-strapped Byju”s, India”s largest Edutech firm, resorted to pledging personal assets in order to arrange funds for meeting salary requirements, Business Standard reported, quoting sources.

The assets offered as collateral include two homes owned by the former billionaire’s family in Bengaluru and his under-construction villa in Epsilon, a plush gated community in the city. The company is set to borrow $12 million by pledging these assets.

The fund will be used to pay salaries to employees. According to the report, there are 15,000 employees working at Byju’s parent firm. Byjus has not officially confirmed this news.

Byju”s has been reeling under severe organizational problems, including a cash crunch and lawsuits. There are reports that, in order to overcome the issues, the company may sell its subsidiaries, including the US-based kids’ digital reading platform, for about $400 million. It also looks to resolve a legal battle with creditors over a missed interest payment on a $1.2 billion term loan.

The report also claimed that Byju Ravidran reinvested around $800 million, which he raised in a personal note, pledging his company shares in the startup, making him run out of money.

Last month, Byjus was compelled to publish the financial year 2022″s financial results, which had been deferred for years, as they confronted investigations and raids.