"Founders Didn't Attend": Byju's Terms Investors Move To Oust CEO Invalid

Shareholders in Indian ed-tech startup Byju's, including tech investors Prosus and Peak XV Partners, voted on Friday to oust its founder and CEO Byju Raveendran, Prosus said in a statement.

Byju's, whose products range from online tutorials to offline coaching, said the decisions taken at an extraordinary general meeting called by investors, were invalid as they did not comply with the company's internal laws.

These require at least one founder-director to be present to form a valid quorum. CEO Raveendran, his wife, and brother did not attend the meeting.

"As the founders did not participate in the meeting, the quorum was never legitimately established, rendering the resolutions null and void," Byju's said.

Byju's, controlled by billionaire Raveendran, was one of India's hottest startups and valued at $22 billion in 2022. More recently, it has suffered setbacks, its valuation has dropped and auditor Deloitte has resigned.

Prosus, which holds a 9.6% stake in Byju's, said the shareholders had unanimously passed resolutions at the meeting on Friday, which included the reconstitution of Byju's board and a change in leadership of the company.

Byju's had approached the Karnataka State High Court before the shareholder meeting and the court said on Wednesday any resolution passed by shareholders would not apply until a further hearing on March 13.

The investors will present decisions taken at the EGM to Karnataka court. "As shareholders and significant investors, we are confident in our position on the validity of the EGM meeting and its decisive outcome," Prosus said in its statement.

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