Byju's founder, sacked by shareholders, says rumors of his dismissal 'largely exaggerated'

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Byju Raveendran, founder of edtech group Byju's, told employees on Saturday that he remains the startup's CEO and that rumors of his dismissal are “largely exaggerated”, a day after a shareholder group voted to remove him as chairman of the company. Emergency general meeting.

In a 758-word letter, the content of which was reviewed by TechCrunch, Raveendran claimed that contributors had violated several “fundamental” local rules.

The shareholder group, which includes Prosus Ventures and Peak and a change in leadership “so that it is no longer under the control of the T&L founders.”

The future of the Bengaluru-headquartered startup, which was once the most valuable in the country, is at stake.

In the letter, Raveendran alleged that the extraordinary general meeting lacked a minimum quorum and failed to get majority support for the proposed resolutions. Raveendran claimed that the EGM was held without adhering to the procedures prescribed by law and was attended by only 35 of Byju's total 170 shareholders, representing about 45% of the company's ownership.

“This means that what was decided at that meeting is irrelevant, because it did not adhere to the established rules. Regardless of the harsh trial by the media, I firmly believe that the truth will inevitably prevail,” he wrote in the letter addressed to employees.

The cash-starved startup, which has been searching for new funding for more than a year, late last month launched a rights issue, seeking to raise about $200 million. The rights issue revalues ​​the startup, once at $22 billion, to about $25 million.

“The cause of our rights has seen an overwhelming response. In fact, the scale of its success has been so great that even those who were on the fence are now rushing to get a piece of the action. This momentum is irreversible, and our comeback is now inevitable,” Raveendran told staff.

It should be clear from the above and from the various news reports, which paint a contradictory picture of the impact of yesterday's meeting, that these minority shareholders are intent on spreading misleading information in the media. The company will not stoop to its level and enter into a media war. “We are confident that their actions will ultimately fail, and that the company's position will prevail.”