QIA seeks court injunction to halt sale or transfer of Byju Raveendran's assets

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), one of the prominent backers of edtech company Byju’s, has approached the Karnataka High Court to block the selling, pledging, or transferring assets by the company’s founder Byju’s Raveendran. The investor also requested the court to force Raveendran to disclose his personal assets.

In a court filing, the investor sought to claim Raveendran's personal assets up to $235.19 million.

Mint reported the development first.

QIA, which invested multiple times in Byju’s, had also provided a $250 million loan to Raveendran in March 2022. Raveendran had invested the money back in Byju’s $800 million round as the company’s valuation soared to $22 billion. As per reports, he invested $400 million in total while his stakes in the company increased to more than 25%.

The development comes at a time when Byju’s has been dealing with insolvency resolution process at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) after a plea filed by the Indian cricket board.

Separately, Byju’s is also entangled in a legal battle against overseas lenders to settle a $1.2 billion loan raised back in November 2021.

Last month, investment firm Prosus, which has invested around $500 million in Byju’s over the years, wrote off the value of its 9.6% stake in the company. Also, Byju’s valuation nosedived by 99% to $225 million following a $200 million rights issue.

According to Forbes Billionaire Index 2024, Raveendran’s net worth also went down to zero.