Byju's founder Raveendran pledges his homes to pay staff salaries: Report

Trouble continues for embattled ed-tech firm Byju's. The latest development, founder Byju Raveendran has reportedly pledged his own home and those owned by his family members in order to raise funds to pay staff salaries. These homes, worth Rs 100 crore have been used as collateral for a loan of $12 million which will be used in paying the salaries of 15,000 employees in Byju's parent company Think & Learn Pvt, reported Bloomberg.

As per Business Standard, the company credited pending November salaries to about 1,000 employees on Monday. The salaries were to be credited by December 1 but Byju's said that a technical glitch in uploading details to a payroll service system delayed the process.

As per the Bloomberg report, two homes owned by the former billionaire’s family in Bengaluru, and his under-construction villa in Epsilon — a plush gated community in the city — were offered as collateral to borrow $12 million.

Byju's Crisis

Byju's, once the most valuable ecosystem in India is now swirling under a massive debt. Raveendran who once had a net-worth of $5 billion has raised loans worth $400 million on a personal level. The Bloomberg report also mentioned that he had re-invested $800 million he raised through share sales in the last couple of years.

Byju's is also locked in a legal battle with creditors over a missed interest payment on a $1.2 billion term loan.