Kumar, Pai to exit Byju’s panel amid flurry of lawsuits
board committee, and help Byju’s settle debt with creditors.
An email sent to Byju’s seeking comment, and text messages sent to Kumar and Pai remained unanswered till press time.
The latest development only adds to the woes of Byju’s, once the most valuable homegrown unlisted company, estimated to be worth $22 billion in 2022.
Earlier this year, Blackrock, an investor in the company, slashed Byju’s valuation to $1 billion, while another investor, Sequoia Capital (now Peak XV Partners), has written off its investment in the online tutor.
The advisory panel was set up last July after G.V. Ravishankar of Peak XV Partners, Vivian Wu of Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Russell Dreisenstock of Prosus resigned from the board of Think & Learn citingpoorcorporategovernance.
Byju’s statutory auditor at the time, Deloitte Haskins & Sells, also resigned, citing delays in the company sharing information with it.
Byju’s inability to raise more money from investors has forced the company to let go of thousands of employees, even leading to delays in salaries being paid to its staff. Last month, Byju’s India chief executive Arjun Mohan stepped down merely seven months after joining the firm.
Raveendran, his wife Divya Gokulnath, and brother Riju Raveendran are the three members of the board.
Byju’s was sanguine when it
The latest development only adds to the woes of Byju’s, estimated to be worth $22 billion in 2022
set up the advisory panel last year. “This council will play a pivotal role in advising and mentoring Byju’s board and its chief executive officer Byju Raveendran on crucial matters that shape the company’s future,” Think & Learn had said in a statement at the time.
Earlier this year, several Byju’s shareholders voted to oust Raveendran at a special shareholder meeting. Byju’s rejected the move, saying the shareholder meeting was “invalid and ineffective”. The matter is now before the Karnataka High Court.
There are multiple insolvency proceedings before the NCLT too.
Byju’s has struggled to end its long-running dispute with Glas Trust Co., the trustee representing 37 lenders in the US, over $500 million missing from the $1.2-billion loan the edtech company took.
Multiple lawsuits across Delaware, New York and Miami have been filed by both the lender and Byju’s.