Byju’s Secures Legal Win Against Qatar Holding Over $235M Asset Dispute

The Karnataka High Court has supported the edtech company Byju’s in its legal battle against a major investor, Qatar Holding LLC (QHL). QHL was trying to stop Byju’s and its founder, Byju Raveendran, from selling important assets worth $235 million, which include shares in Aakash Educational Services Limited (Aakash Institute).

On April 16, Justice Ashok S Kinagi said that QHL should take its concerns to an arbitration tribunal in Singapore instead of going to Indian courts. He mentioned that QHL could ask the tribunal for help but rejected the petition for now. However, to protect QHL’s interests, the court allowed any current agreements and orders to stay in place for the next three months.

The issue began when Byju’s parent company, Think & Learn, and Aakash Institute attempted to merge, but the deal fell through. According to QHL, it had invested $150 million in Byju’s to help buy 17.89 million shares in Aakash. They had an agreement that required Byju to repay $300 million by March 31, 2025. However, after QHL terminated the deal in February 2024, they demanded $235 million back and started arbitration in March 2024.

An emergency arbitrator had already prevented Byju’s from selling any assets up to that amount, an order that a Singapore court also supported. QHL claimed that Raveendran had made inconsistent statements about he owned the Aakash shares. The High Court pointed out his contradictory statements, which are not acceptable in legal matters. The court emphasized that a party should not keep changing its statements and extend legal disputes unnecessarily.