Blackstone alleged that the embattled edtech was trying to reduce its stake to benefit Manipal Education, the largest shareholder in Aakash
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has blocked Aakash Educational Services from passing a resolution to amend its Articles of Association (AoA).
In its interim order, the Tribunal has told the edtech to stop any changes to its governance structure until it passes a final decision.
Blackstone’s allegation
This comes at a time, when Byju’s lenders, Blackstone, alleged that the embattled company was trying to reduce the edtech’s stake to benefit Manipal Education, the largest shareholder in Aakash.
With this order, the NCLT has halted changes to the “Reserved Matters” under Aakash’s AoA, which require the consent of specific investors. On Tuesday, a consortium of the US-based lenders opposed the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) called by Aakash on November 20.
The scheduled EGM was allegedly aimed to enhance the rights of Manipal Education, which owns 40 per cent of Aakash, while diluting the rights of Byju’s and other minority shareholders and to strip the shareholders of their rights by amending the AoA.
Glas Trust, a constorium of lenders, told the Tribunal that the proceedings of the meeting may affect the edtech’s insolvency process.
Creditors question RP “actions”
The creditors also questioned the “actions” of the resolution professional (RP) of Byju’s for allowing its co-founder and CEO, Byju Raveendran, to continue as a representative of Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, on Aakash’s board.
Per news reports, multiple minority shareholders of Aakash have also filed a mismanagement and oppression petition against the current management of the entity.
Byju’s had acquired Aakash in 2021 for $940 million, offering 70 per cent cash and 30 per cent equity to its founders, the Chaudhry family, and Blackstone.
On November 19, the Board of Cricket Council for Cricket in India had moved an application before the NCLT to withdraw its insolvency petition against Byju’s which was opposed by Glas Trust and others.