Byju's arm gets $168 mn boost from Ranjan Pai

Manipal Education and Medical Group chairman Ranjan Pai has invested $168 million (₹1,400 crore) in beleaguered edtech firm Byju's' test-prep subsidiary Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL). This would help cash-strapped Byju's repay the loan that the company raised from US-based investment firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management in May, after facing a 'technical default', according to people familiar with the matter.

- PEERZADA ABRAR

As reported by Business Standard earlier, Pai is in discussions to invest about $350 million as equity and debt in Byju's, according to sources.

"The family office of Ranjan Pai has taken over the debt exposure of Davidson Kempner in AESL," said a person with knowledge about the development. "He is partnering with primary shareholder Byju's and its founder Byju Raveendran in steering the tutorial chain forward."

In May 2023, Bengaluru-based Byju's signed a ₹2,000 crore ($250 million) round from Davidson Kempner in a structured instruments deal. It was a loan and had an equity upside linked to the company's subsidiary AESL's public listing in the near future, according to sources. However, the firm only received about