After months of private wrangling, Byju’s and some of its biggest investors have now taken their fight public.
Byju’s, once India’s most valuable startup, said on Friday that its investors do not have a vote to seek leadership changes, a day after a group of shareholders called an extraordinary general meeting to remove founder Byju Raveendran and his family from top positions in the company. Company. Educational technology group.
In a press release, Byju’s said it would continue its deliberations to raise $200 million in a rights issue, for which it received “encouraging responses from several investors.”
The investors, including Prosus, General Atlantic, Peak Reconstitution of the Board of Directors, so that it is no longer controlled by the T&L founders; And a change in company leadership.”
This was the third time that investors sought an extraordinary general meeting. The new order comes on the heels of Byju’s launching a rights issue to raise $200 million, capital it said was essential to its survival. The Bengaluru-headquartered startup, which is valued at $22 billion and has raised over $5 billion, has revalued to $25 million in a rights issue, TechCrunch previously reported.
Byju’s full Friday statement:
Think & Learn Private Limited, the parent company of BYJU’S, has sadly noted the statements of a few investors calling for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to replace Founder and Group CEO Byju Raveendran. Under these unfortunate circumstances, we would like to emphasize that the shareholders’ agreement does not give them the right to vote on changing the CEO or management.
TLPL will proceed with the proposed $200 million rights issue after receiving encouraging responses from several investors. The company is pleased with the support it enjoys from a wide segment of its shareholders
The importance of the rights issue was shared with all shareholders, as capital was pivotal to a successful turnaround. Unfortunately, the company and our employees are paying the price for the confrontation sparked by some investors. Business continuity is essential, and we must prioritize this in our business.
Byju Raveendran and his leadership team kept TLPL afloat after three investors left the company’s board last year, sparking a wider crisis. The company, along with an advisory board of Rajneesh Kumar and Engineer Pai, has formed a working group with investors to find a constructive way forward.
The company and its leadership have updated the team on all critical matters, including ongoing business restructuring, financial position and audits. TLPL has transformed its business, reducing monthly burn to near operating break-even, and is working on an AI-led technology upgrade soon. In this context, the actions of some investors, whose names were not mentioned, are disturbing at a time full of challenges.
TLPL will remain on the path of dialogue even as the founders and leadership find ways to meet the company’s growing obligations, including paying salaries. We want to reiterate that the company has not taken any funding from an outside investor in nearly two years other than the founder injecting over $1 billion – which is the reason it launched a rights issue as a quick and fair way to raise money.
More to follow.