Lenders to Byju’s, once one of India’s hottest tech startups, properly cited a default on a $1.2 billion loan when taking over control of a unit of the education-technology provider, a Delaware judge concluded.

The lenders – which include Redwood Investments LLC and Silver Point Capital LP – were within their contractual rights to replace a relative of company founder Byju Raveendran on the board of Byju’s Alpha, a special-purpose company formed for financing purposes, with their nominee, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Morgan Zurn ruled. 

Zurn rejected a complaint by Byju’s that Timothy Pohl, tapped by lenders to oversee the special-purpose entity, was improperly authorized to take the reins. Pohl was “effectively seated” as the sole director of Byju’s Alpha because of the defaults, the judge said in a 41-page ruling. 

Lenders have been pushing hard for the repayment of the $1.2 billion loan amid the company’s mounting distress after a pandemic-era boom in online learning fizzled out. Byju’s had been working to sell assets and deal with the loan issue when government investigators searched company offices this year. The lender fight also has prompted some investors to write down their stakes in one of the world’s largest ed-tech companies. 

A lawyer for the lenders said earlier this year that Byju’s Alpha was intended to serve as a holding company to protect their rights in the case. The lenders weren’t seeking to take over the entire ed-tech company, Brock Czeschin, a lawyer for Red Tree and Silver Lake, said in a May court hearing.  

Bengaluru, India-based Byju’s didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The closely held company had said the lenders’ default arguments are bogus. 

“We are pleased the Delaware Chancery Court agrees that Byju’s has repeatedly defaulted on its loan obligations,” a spokesperson for the lender group said in a statement. “The lenders reserve all rights available to them.”

The loan terms allowed lenders to take control of pledged Bjyu’s Alpha shares if a default triggered that right, Zurn said in her Nov. 2 ruling. When a company unit failed to get the Indian government’s backing as a loan guarantor, the lenders filed a notice of default in March, according to a transcript of the judge’s announcement of her decision. 

Pohl removed all of the company’s officers and took over as CEO after he was was appointed as sole director of Byju’s Alpha, according to the transcript. The suit over the loan was filed by Glas Trust Co., which serves as trustee for the lenders. The trust turned to Pohl to oversee Byju’s Alpha on behalf of the creditors. 

Byju’s complained that the ex-lawyer, whose received at least $375,000 for his role as the firm’s supreme leader, was reaping excessive fees. Zurn rejected that argument, saying Pohl’s $75,000-per-month pay was authorized by a “status-quo” order she entered in the case to protect Byju’s Alpha. 

The case is Glas Trust Company v. Ravindran, 2023-0488, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington).

Around four tyre fires belching black smoke, Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers in Jenin on Thursday in the deadliest army raid the occupied West Bank has seen since 2005. The Palestinian city, a Hamas stronghold and the site of frequent army raids, was rocked by dozens of explosions as Israeli armoured vehicles tore through the streets, fighting running battles with Palestinian gunmen using assault rifles and pipe bombs.

AFP reporters saw one masked Hamas operative lying bloody on the pavement, as another took his rifle to fire towards Israeli positions.

Another three were seen to be wounded, while AFP counted five bodies in a nearby hospital morgue, where weeping relatives kept vigil over the dead.

The Palestinian health ministry said 14 were killed in the raid, with the violence continuing until Thursday evening, making it the deadliest single incursion in the West Bank since 2005, according to United Nations records.

Four more were killed elsewhere in the West Bank on Thursday, the health ministry said, putting the toll of Palestinians killed in the West Bank by Israeli fire on in settler attacks since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7 at more than 180 people. Three Israelis were killed in violence in the West Bank over that period, according to officials.

“This is every day,” said a 39-year-old Palestinian computer engineer, who asked to remain anonymous.

“This is our life,” he said before fresh gunfire sent panic through a crowd of onlookers who ran down the street.

Warnings from above

The war in Gaza was triggered when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israel in an unprecedented attack that killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and has retaliated with an aerial bombing and ground offensive that the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip says has killed more than 10,800 people, mostly civilians.

The West Bank — a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war — has also been roiled by violence amid increasing raids targeting Hamas.

The Israeli military said 20 people were detained in Thursday’s Jenin raid, including two members of the Hamas group.

From a hilltop vantage point, the crackle of gunfire echoed off high-rise buildings, amid smoke and sirens.

Fresh explosions occurred every five minutes at the peak of the fighting mid-afternoon, as an Israeli drone circled over the city.

A local told AFP leaflets were airdropped in the morning over Jenin refugee camp — home to some 23,000 people, according to the United Nations — warning them to avoid Hamas factions.

In the afternoon, more pamphlets were scattered from above, as locals said fighting had left children trapped in their schools.

“We feel even more bad than what you would assume,” said a 42-year-old dentist, after gesturing in the direction of Israeli troops and drawing a finger across his throat.

“They say in Gaza the problem is Hamas. The problem is not Hamas, the problem is the occupation.”

‘Our land’

On the streets, Israeli troops faced off with Hamas operatives hiding behind cover.

Dozens of spectators milled in side streets, surging forward to help the wounded and direct ambulances.

The Iran-backed group, which is also active in Gaza, is blacklisted as a “terrorist organisation” by the European Union and the United States.

Nearby, a pickup truck waited to carry away the dead and wounded.

“They shoot indiscriminately, in a barbaric way,” said 35-year-old paramedic Muhammad al-Ahmad. “Every hour we have a body.”

At a local morgue, the pale faces of young men were stained with blood. The dead body of 45-year-old Muhammad Aqel’s nephew lay in an adjacent prayer room.

“What keeps us strong is our steadfastness and God. This land is our land,” said Aqel.

YouTuber Elvish Yadav, accused of using smuggled snakes in a music video, told police that the snakes had been arranged by Bollywood singer Fazilpuria, sources said.

During Mr Yadav’s questioning, Noida Police asked him about a video where he is seen with two snakes. The YouTuber told cops that the snakes had been arranged by Fazilpuria.

Cops have reached out to the singer and called him in for questioning.

Police made a major breakthrough in a racket of snake smuggling, when they arrested five people with snakes based on a sting operation. The operation was carried out by the NGO – People For Animals (PFA).

One of the arrested told police that they had arranged the snakes for a party being hosted by Elvish Yadav. Police rescued nine snakes, five of them cobras, from the banquet hall where the party was being held. About 20 ml of suspected snake venom was also recovered.

Mr Yadav, who shot to fame after winning the reality show Bigg Boss OTT 2, has denied all allegations.

Police have questioned the 26-year-old twice and asked him several questions about his involvement in the sale of snake venom based on the statements of Rahul Yadav, who was arrested for allegedly supplying the venom at rave parties.

Cops have also sought data from Mr Yadav’s mobile phone to obtain information about his call logs and past locations.