EGM ousts founder, but Byju's unfazed

Investors move NCLT citing mismanagement by co leadership

- Ranjani Raghavan & Sneha Shah

The emergency meeting called by Byju's investors began with chaos but turned out as expected: with shareholders voting to oust CEO Byju Raveendran and revamp the board, and the online tutor dismissing the resolutions as invalid. Friday's extraordinary general meeting was attended by 27 investors, including Prosus, General Atlantic, Sofina, and Peak XV Partners.

Earlier on Thursday, these investors, with support from Tiger Global and Owl Ventures, filed a petition before the National Company Law Tribunal against Byju's $200-million rights issue, citing alleged suppression of investor rights and mismanagement of the company, a person with knowledge of the development said, declining to be identified.

The developments signal a ratcheting of the increasingly acrimonious relationship between Byju's and its investors, which has spiked after the troubled edtech company announced the rights issue, which dilutes the shareholding of non-participating investors by 99%.