BYJU’S, once a high-flying Indian tech start-up, has elected not to make any further payment to lenders of a $1.2 billion loan until a dispute is settled.
The company said in a statement June 6 that it has filed a complaint concerning the loan to the New York Supreme Court.
Lenders to the education-technology company have not yet received a $40 million interest payment due Monday, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
BYJU’S had been trying to strike a deal with creditors to restructure the loan after the pandemic-era online tutoring boom tapered off and crimped its finances. But creditors demanding an accelerated repayment scrapped the long-running negotiations.
The payment hadn’t been made as of 6pm in New York on June 5, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. Some lenders are exploring options on how to address a potential payment default, the people said.
The loan slumped to a low of 64.375 cents on the dollar on Monday, down from 78 cents on June 2, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The company led by former teacher Byju Raveendran had previously missed deadlines to file financial accounts, and its offices were searched by India’s agency that investigates violations of the nation’s foreign-exchange policies.