Kirkland Advises Think & Learn (BYJU’S) Creditors on Global Settlement with Aakash and Manipal

Kirkland & Ellis advised GLAS Trust Company LLC (GLAS), which represents the lenders under a US$1.2 billion Term Loan B guaranteed by Think & Learn Private Limited (Think & Learn), the parent company of BYJU’S, on a global settlement with Aakash Educational Services Limited (Aakash) and the Manipal Group. GLAS holds approximately 99.2% of the voting share of Think & Learn’s Committee of Creditors.

Aakash is one of India’s leading test-preparation businesses, preparing students for the country’s national medical and engineering entrance examinations. Founded in 1988, Aakash has grown from a single center into a nationwide network of more than 400 centers.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Bengaluru, approved the settlement on September 28, 2026 in Think & Learn’s corporate insolvency resolution process. The settlement concludes more than a year of contested proceedings before the NCLT, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal and the Supreme Court of India. Kirkland led the creditors’ strategy throughout the proceedings, working with Indian counsel, and negotiated the settlement.

Under the settlement, Think & Learn’s shareholding in Aakash will increase from approximately 13.72% to 32%. Think & Learn will also receive governance, information, pre-emptive and exit rights to protect the value of the shareholding.

The transaction reflects the breadth and depth of Kirkland’s work in India. Beyond corporate and transactional matters, Kirkland has developed hands-on, practical experience of contested litigation, restructuring and insolvency in India, working alongside Indian counsel on some of the market’s most significant situations. That experience informs how Kirkland advises clients on structuring and documenting their investments and financings in India, including the protections they will need in a downside scenario.

The Kirkland team included restructuring lawyers Wei-Yang Lim, Anthony Wijaya, Su Yi Yeoh, Hamish Hatrick, Lynn Pang, Patrick Nash and Luka Knezevic; corporate lawyers Pierre Arsenault, Yawen Li and Du Yulin; and litigation lawyer Wilfred Ho.