Over 60% of EdTech start-up BYJU'S shareholders voted today, Friday, February 23, to oust Founding CEO Byju Raveendran and his family due to "mismanagement and failures" at the once-hottest tech start-up in India. However, the firm objected, claiming that the voting was "invalid" because the founders were not present.
According to a statement from Prosus, one of the six investors who called the extraordinary general meeting (EGM), "shareholders unanimously passed all resolutions put forward for a vote".
These resolutions called for the restructuring of the board of directors to remove Think & Learn (T&L) founder control, a change in the company's leadership, and a resolution to the unresolved governance, financial mismanagement, and compliance issues at BYJU’S, reports PTI.
The EGM was avoided by Raveendran and his family, who deemed it to be "procedurally invalid".
But the results of the EGM voting won't matter until March 13, when the Karnataka High Court will take up Raveendran's appeal contesting some investors' decision to call the EGM.
The EGM was called by shareholders who together own more than 32 per cent of T&L, the company that runs BYJU’S, but the high court declined to postpone it on Wednesday. Any resolution that is approved would not take effect until the next hearing date.
Two-thirds of the corporation is owned by Raveendran and his family.
Even before the results of the EGM were announced, BYJU'S released a statement in which it proclaimed its firm belief that the resolutions voted at the recently concluded EGM, which was attended by a small group of chosen shareholders, are invalid and ineffectual.
The statement went on, "At worst, the passing of the unenforceable resolutions challenges the rule of law."
