It took 10 years for Baiju to become India’s most important startup, expanding its online learning applications to many markets including the US, and the teacher-founded company’s sales performance has been good, though it has avoided controversy (though not extreme by Indian standards). Just a few quarters now – or in this market, a few years, who knows? – Far from being a public company, Baiju finds it difficult to keep its narrative straight.
The company has missed its own deadline to submit audited financials within 18 months of the year ending March 2021. The startup — backed by several investors including BlackRock, Tiger Global, UBS, Process Ventures, Sequoia India and Lightspeed Venture Partners — said in early July that it would present its results within 10 days.
It’s rare for a late-stage startup to miss its deadline — let alone by several months — and Baiju’s delay has drawn the attention of India’s Ministry of Corporate Affairs. A lawmaker even said: In July, Karti Chidambaram demanded an inquiry into the organization’s finances for not submitting the statement.
But according to Ashish Mishra, editor of The Morning Context, an Indian news network that has chronicled Baiju’s many flaws in recent months; Remember this week: Filing the delayed financial results is one of the issues Baiju is struggling with.
Byju’s announced in March that it had raised $800 million in a round led by founder Byju Raveendran. Little-known venture firms Sumeru Ventures and Oxshot were to provide $250 million, a pledge they have yet to honor. Byju’s said in July that it was on track to receive the funds by the end of August.
The company, which has spent $2.5 billion over the past two years buying smaller firms, last year agreed to pay nearly $1 billion to acquire Blackstone-backed Akash Education Services, a 34-year-old fitness center. Byju’s has yet to pay Blackstone about $180 million for the deal, missing its own August deadline.
Baijum was reportedly looking to raise about $1 billion in loans from Morgan Stanley to buy US-based edtech 2U. That deal also stuck. The firm had been preparing to go public through the SPAC line this year, but has delayed those plans as the market slump continues, three people familiar with the matter said.
Meanwhile, Baiju has been on the market for more than three months to raise a new round, but there has been no chance yet, according to a person familiar with the matter. Baiju’s secondary shares have begun to be offered for sale at less than $22 billion, the source added.
Baiju said he had no official comment to make.
