Byju’s investors seek to remove edtech group’s founder

A group of Byju's major investors has called for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to make a change in Byju's leadership after the edtech group announced terms of its proposed $25 million valuation.

The union said it had called the special meeting after "serious efforts" to resolve "ongoing issues" in Byju. Byju's was the world's most valuable edtech company when it last raised capital in 2022. He first proposed a special meeting in December ahead of the rights issue.

At the meeting, Byju investors said they were seeking to "address issues of good governance, financial mismanagement and compliance; reorganize the board so that it is no longer controlled by T&L's founder";

Prosus, General Atlantic, Peak XV, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Owl Ventures and Sofina are companies seeking a special meeting of shareholders, people with direct knowledge of the situation told TechCrunch.

Last year's investment dispute between investors and Byju Founders are increasingly concerned about governance issues, which in part caused Prosus, Peak XV and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to quickly leave the board last year. International auditor Deloitte also quit, citing stress. A series of complaints.
< br> India's most important startup Byju downgraded its debt and operating costs rating from 99% on the rights issue, which started earlier this week, ahead of the extraordinary meeting. According to sources familiar with the matter, it was stated that this situation was "important to prevent further damage to the price." Byju's has raised more than $5 billion in debt and equity.

In a letter to shareholders earlier this week, Byju Raveendran called for the continued support of investors and said the founders had "achieved great personal success for the company". company. “We have spent our lives building this company and believe in its mission,” he added.

Raveendran said in the letter that he and other founders of the ed-tech group had invested $1.1 billion, mostly in loans. investment – ​​placed in a Bengaluru-based startup within the last 18 months.

Here are all recommendations from participating investors:

We are committed to the companies we invest in and work with, based on investors with a proven track record of support in the new India business year.

Keeping this in mind, a notice has been issued [today] to the shareholders of Think & Learn Private Limited (T&L) to hold an Extraordinary Meeting in accordance with the rules recommended to shareholders under the Companies Act, 2013. General Assembly (EGM) to resolve ongoing problems. The special meeting request was supported by T&L shareholders and follows a previous notice of request sent to T&L's board in July and December 2023 that was ignored.

Decisions proposed to the EGM to evaluate requests to resolve good governance, financial mismanagement and compliance issues; restructuring the board of directors so that it is no longer under the control of the T&L founder; and changes in company culture. .

The issuance of this EGM notice follows months of efforts by shareholders to engage with the Company to resolve ongoing issues relating to corporate governance, business, mismanagement and compliance. These efforts continued after Prosus and other elected member-directors resigned from the board in June 2023.

While we appreciate the efforts of the Independent Advisory Committee to resolve some of the pressing issues facing T&L, we are extremely dissatisfied with these efforts. There are concerns about the future stability of the Company under the current leadership and process currently on the Board.

We wholeheartedly believe in India and the transformative role science education can play in improving teaching and learning. We also believe in BYJU's mission and collaboration. We will continue to protect our rights as shareholders, cooperate with other shareholders and government agencies, and protect the long-term interests of the company and stakeholders.