Goel, who has worked in senior positions in firms like Diageo and GE, is joining Byju’s at a time when the company is in the middle of renegotiating conditions for its $1.2 billion term loan B or TLB even as its FY22 financials are yet to be filed.
After spending over two years at Vedanta, Goel resigned from Vedanta last month and the company said in a stock exchange filing that Goel’s resignation would be effective April 9.
A spokesperson for Byju’s confirmed the development to ET. Byju’s said in a statement that Goel will work closely with the founders–Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath– and the senior leadership on strategy development, capital planning and financial analysis.
Byju’s, last valued at $22 billion, has been under the scanner for delays in reporting earnings, overall business practices like mis-selling its courses and the way it recognised its revenues .
One of its investors, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has marked down the value of holdings in the edtech firm by nearly 50% at little over $11 billion, indicating the stress in the company and overall tech industry.
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“With his extensive experience and diverse skill-set, Ajay is the ideal candidate to take on the role of chief financial officer as we continue to chart the course of sustainable growth in this exciting new phase. His strategic thinking and financial acumen will be instrumental in helping us create even more value for our stakeholders,” Raveendran said in a statement. All of this comes amid the company struggling with its loan repayments. Last month, we reported that Byju’s was seeking to refinance its $1.2 billion TLB at a higher rate, a development linked to the delays in publishing FY21 and FY22 results, which triggered lenders to recall the loans.
Goel’s appointment is significant as the edtech firm is planning another fundraising round through convertible notes and has held discussions with existing investors as well as sovereign funds and pension funds for the raise.
Typically, no valuation is ascribed to a company when funds are raised through convertible notes. Investors who are participating in the round would get a discount in valuation when the company raises its new equity funding round, or if there is a liquidity event such as an initial public offering (IPO).
