Camshaft disclosed in court filings this week that about $533 million it managed for Byju’s Alpha, a U.S. unit of Indian edtech group Byju’s, was transferred to another wholly-owned, U.S.-based subsidiary of Byju’s, refuting allegations that the Indian company used the wealth. Manager services for withdrawing money.
In court filings, Camshaft said the capital was transferred to Inspilearn LLC, a Delaware-based subsidiary of Byju’s. Camshaft also clarified that neither Byju’s nor any of its subsidiaries are limited partners in the hedge fund.
Byju’s told TechCrunch in a statement that Camshaft’s disclosure is consistent with the Indian startup’s position that it remained the beneficiary of the capital. The Credit Agreement he signed with the lenders did not specify how he would use the funds, nor did he require a specific amount to be held as collateral, Byju added.
“The latest disclosure debunks false narratives about the $533 million being rejected,” the startup said.
Camshaft Capital attracted media attention last year after Byju’s lenders questioned the wealth adviser’s legitimacy as they claimed the $533 million was collateral for $1.2 billion they had lent to the Indian startup. A select few alienated investors in Byju’s later used the allegation to question the character of Byju’s founder Byju Raveendran.
Byju’s, valued at $22 billion in early 2022, is also locked in a legal battle with some of its shareholders in Bangalore, its home market, who are trying to roll back a rights issue at the edtech group.
On Saturday, Byju officials informed that the startup had successfully raised fresh funds through the rights issue, but a select few investors “(4 out of 150+ investors) have stooped to a heartless level, ensuring that we are unable to use the funds raised to pay your hard-earned wages.”
As a result, more than 20,000 employees of Byju’s would not receive their salaries on time, Raveendran wrote to the employees.
Last month, some shareholders voted to remove Raveendran from the edtech group. A day later, Raveendran assured employees that he was still their CEO and questioned the legality of the elite investor group’s action.
