Manipal Education and Medical Group India, led by Ranjan Pai, has submitted an expression of interest (EoI) to participate in the insolvency resolution process of Think & Learn, the parent company of troubled edtech firm Byju’s.
This is Manipal’s second EoI submission after the resolution professional (RP) extended the deadline to November 13.
Sources indicated that Manipal is currently the only entity to have submitted an EoI for Byju’s parent firm, which is undergoing insolvency before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
Manipal has sought inclusion in the list of prospective resolution applicants (PRAs) and requested access to the information memorandum, virtual data room and evaluation matrix to assess the feasibility of preparing a resolution plan, the company said in a statement. It claims that it meets all the eligibility norms under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, including compliance with Section 29A, which bars certain entities from bidding.
The company has submitted all required undertakings, confidentiality commitments, and e-stamped documentation, it added. The RP will now review all EoIs, release a provisional list of PRAs, and later a final list after verification and approval from the committee of creditors (CoC). However, the submission of an EoI does not guarantee shortlisting or progression to the next phase.
Manipal’s interest is widely seen as strategic, given its majority ownership in Aakash Educational Services (AESL)—which Think & Learn acquired in 2021 and holds around 25% stake in. A successful resolution of Think & Learn could help consolidate Aakash’s ownership and align it more closely with Manipal’s education portfolio.
The latest development also follows a series of legal disputes between Think & Learn’s creditors and Aakash over a recent rights issue. The RP of Think & Learn and Glas Trust, which holds a 99% voting share in the former’s CoC, had opposed the rights issue, claiming that Think & Learn lacked funds to participate.
However, both the NCLT and the NCLAT dismissed their petitions, and the Supreme Court later upheld those rulings, paving the way for Aakash’s rights issue to proceed. Following the court rulings, Think & Learn had deposited `25 crore with Aakash to subscribe to shares proportionate to its shareholding in the rights issue.
