Byju’s shareholders to hold vote on removing CEO Raveendran on Friday, according to report

Byju’s shareholders to take vote on ousting CEO Raveendran, wife Divya Gokulnath on Friday: Report

Amid the ongoing financial crisis, the investors of edtech company Byju’s are planning to take a vote on Friday to decide on the ouster of existing board members, including founder and CEO Byju Raveendran, reported The Times of India.

The shareholders of Byju’s parent company Think and Learn Pvt Ltd are expected to gather for a special meeting on Friday, called by a group of investors, will decide the fate of Raveendran in the edtech company.

The three-member board of Byju’s – CEO Byju Raveendran, his wife Divya Gokulnath and brother Riju Raveendran – are currently the largest shareholders in the company, and hold 26 per cent of the total shares. The vote will be led by Raveendran himself, who will be voting against the motion.

The group of investors who have called for the extraordinary meeting (EGM) together own around 25 per cent of Byju’s shares, and they won’t be participating in the voting as they don’t have voting rights, reported TOI. This is because they signed the shareholders’ agreement relinquishing their voting rights.

The topics of discussion at the EGM include a resolution of the outstanding governance, financial mismanagement, and the reconstruction of the board so that it is no longer controlled by the founders, reported TOI.

Further, the report mentioned that the shareholders have the right to move the company law tribunal against the founders and board members of Byju’s over mismanagement of funds and minority shareholder oppression.

Think and Learn, which operates under Byju’s brand name, is learnt to have received a commitment of USD 300 million from investors for its ongoing rights issue which will close by the end of February, sources aware of the development said.

Byju’s floated a rights issue in January to raise USD 200 million through an equity rights issue at an enterprise valuation in the range of USD 220-250 million which is a 99 per cent reduction in its peak valuation of USD 22 billion.

“Byju’s has received a total commitment of around USD 300 million for the rights as on date. Some investors have also suggested increasing the rights issue size but the priority for the company is to close the existing issue successfully,” a source told PTI.

This development comes in the backdrop of the ongoing financial strain and internal issues within Byju’s, as the shareholders make a crucial decision on the company’s leadership and future direction.