OPPO Mobiles files a case with NCLT against Byju's

OPPO Mobiles Pvt Ltd, a Chinese electronics maker, filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday against edtech firm Byju's, aiming to recover its dues, joining a long line of operational creditors who have filed cases against the struggling company.

The Section 9 petition, filed before the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), seeks to initiate the corporate insolvency resolution process against Byju's under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) 2016. Section 9 of the IBC allows for an operational procedure taken by a creditor to initiate the insolvency process Due to the company's negligence.

OPPO did not disclose how much Byju's had to pay.

Byju's has been given two weeks to respond on the matter, and the NCLT is scheduled to hear the case on May 28.

OPPO is represented by Vruksha Law Chambers and Byju's is represented by MZM Legal.

The trial, led by Justice K Biswal and Justice Manoj Kumar Dubey, is hearing a series of bankruptcy petitions against Byju's filed by several operational creditors, including BCCI, Teleperformance Business Services, Surfer Technologies and OPPO.

At today's hearing, Teleperformance Business Services, another Byju's operating creditor, told the court that settlement discussions with Byju's are continuing and progressing favorably.

Teleperformance's lawyers submitted relevant documents to the court and requested additional time to finalize the settlement.

Byju's lawyer also made a similar request.

NCLT has given Teleperformance 15 days to reach an agreement with Byju's. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for May 28. If no agreement is reached, the matter will be heard on its merits.

On April 18, Teleperformance initiated bankruptcy proceedings after Byju's defaulted on a payment of Rs 5 crore. Promod Nair, Baiju's senior counsel, sought additional time from the court to reach a settlement, which was approved by April 30.

In another case, NCLT imposed a fine of INR 20,000 on Byju's for not responding to the petition filed by Surfer Technologies. Byju's senior counsel informed the court that a compliance statement in relation to costs had been submitted. The NCLT has given Surfer Technologies two weeks to apply for re-engagement in the matter.

Having been valued at more than 22 billion USD, Byju's has been unable to access the 200 million USD raised from its recent rights issue after a court order, even as it has increased dues to employees, debtors and vendors.

In April, Arjun Mohan, Byju's CEO in India, resigned after seven months in the role.

The online tutor had "one of its worst seasons" in the January-March quarter, when most sales were booked. In addition, the company's debt has risen to more than 200 million USD in India, and about 200 USD to 250 million USD in the United States.

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