In a dramatic set of events, the shareholders of edtech major Byju’s on Friday voted to remove founder Byju Raveendran as the CEO of the company. According to news agency PTI, the development was confirmed by Byju’s investor Prosus. Apart from the CEO, the investors have also sought removal of Raveendran’s family from the key posts of the company.
However, the company has rejected the vote and termed the process ‘invalid’ as the founders were not present during the Extraordinary General Meeting that was held on Friday.
“Shareholders unanimously passed all resolutions put forward for vote. These included a request for the resolution of the outstanding governance, financial mismanagement and compliance issues at Byju’s; the reconstitution of the board of directors, so that it is no longer controlled by the founder of T&L; and a change of leadership of the company,” Prosus, one of the shareholders that had called the Friday EGM, said in a statement.
The decision resulting from the vote during the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) won’t take effect until March 13. This is when the Karnataka High Court is scheduled to reconvene to consider Raveendran’s appeal against certain investors’ initiative to convene the EGM. Despite the High Court’s decision on Wednesday declining to halt the EGM called by shareholders with a combined stake of over 32% in Think & Learn (T&L), the company operating Byju’s, any resolutions passed won’t be implemented until the next hearing. Raveendran and his family hold a 26.3% ownership in the company.