An extraordinary general meeting (EGM) convened by investors of Byju’s to remove the company’s CEO and founder, Byju Raveendran, encountered several disruptions, as unidentified individuals allegedly attempted to sabotage the proceedings, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Sources revealed that completing the roll call and verifying attendees took over an hour due to hundreds of individuals attempting to join the Zoom video-conferencing link of the EGM using various aliases like Sir Michael Knight, Natalia Cruz, and Kevin Pietersen. Additionally, unidentified individuals impersonated the company’s investors by joining the meeting.
“The day began with a phishing attack aimed at disrupting the meeting. Attendees received a random notification from an unidentified source claiming that the meeting was cancelled. However, the EGM commenced as scheduled at 9 am IST,” stated a source close to the situation.
Out of the 170 individuals attempting to attend the EGM, the total number of participants was reduced to 37 after verifying pre-authorized names. Of these, 8 were Byju’s employee-shareholders, 5 were legal representatives, and the remaining 24 were investors.
Meanwhile, despite Raveendran, his co-founder and wife Divya Gokulnath, and his brother Riju Ravindran deciding to abstain from the meeting, sources informed Moneycontrol that the EGM would proceed as planned. Collectively, the three board members hold about 26.3 percent of the shares in Think and Learn Pvt Ltd—the parent company of Byju’s, while the investors seeking their removal collectively hold over 30 percent of the shares, as of June 2022.
These investors include General Atlantic, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Owl Ventures, Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA), Sands Capital Global Innovation Fund, Sofina, and T Rowe Price Associates.
However, a court order earlier this week has prevented the Board from implementing any decisions made at the EGM until the next hearing in March—in response to a petition filed by the company against its investors.
Byju’s, once India’s most valuable startup, has faced criticism since the beginning of 2022 for various issues, including accounting irregularities, alleged course mis-selling, and significant layoffs.
Over the past 12 months, the company has laid off thousands of employees as it grappled with dwindling venture capital funding and decreased demand for online learning services. Subsequently, its investor board members have resigned, citing differences with Raveendran.
The company has attempted to address some of these issues by securing funding from early investor Ranjan Pai, establishing an advisory council with industry veterans such as Mohandas Pai and Rajnish Kumar, and appointing Arjun Mohan as CEO. Additionally, it is exploring asset divestments, including Great Learning and Epic.
