Byju's investors seek to eject CEO Raveendran, rejig board

Large shareholders of Byju’s have demanded a shareholders’ meeting to oust its top leadership including founder and chief executive Byju Raveendran and recast its board, days after the edtech startup tapped its existing investors for emergency capital at a throwaway valuation.

- Ranjani Raghavan & Sneha Shah

The $200 million rights issue by Think and Learn Pvt. Ltd (T&L), parent of Byju’s, threatens to wipe out shareholders who decline to participate. General Atlantic, Prosus Ventures, Peak XV and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, among others, signed a notice demanding the change, the people cited above said. The extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to "address persistent issues" includes a call for the reconstitution of the beleaguered company’s board, "so that it is no longer controlled by the founders of T&L".

"The request for an EGM is supported by a consortium of T&L shareholders and followed earlier notices of requisition sent to the T&L board of directors in July and December 2023, which were disregarded," a spokesperson for the consortium said in a statement.