In note to staff, Byju’s founder calls his sacking ‘a farce’: ‘I remain CEO’

A day after shareholders of the ed-tech firm Byju’s voted to remove its founder-CEO Byju Raveendran from the board, the 44-year-old businessman asserted that he continues to be the firm’s CEO and management remains unchanged.

In a note to employees, he called Friday’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of shareholders a “farce” and stated that “rumours” of him being fired from Byju’s “have been greatly exaggerated and highly inaccurate”.

“I am writing this letter to you as the CEO of our company. Contrary to what you may have read in the media, I continue to remain CEO, the management remains unchanged, and the board remains the same,” he said.

On Friday, over 60 percent investors of the company voted to remove Raveendran and his family from the board over alleged “mismanagement and failures”.

However, Raveendran rejected the EGM decision and said a lot of essential rules were “violated”.

He wrote, “This means that whatever was decided in that meeting does not count, because it didn’t stick to the established rules…It is crucial for everyone to understand the specific issues that make this EGM a farce”.

Byju Raveendran or his family did not attend the EGM, which they deemed “invalid”.

In his email to the employees, the Byju’s boss also highlighted that the investor’s meeting failed to achieve a proper quorum, as it required the presence of at least one Founder Director.

“The claims made by a small group of select minority shareholders that they have unanimously passed the resolution in the EGM is completely wrong. Only 35 out of 170 shareholders (representing around 45 per cent of shareholding) voted in favour of the resolution. That in itself shows the very limited support that this irrelevant meeting received,” he further said.

Raveendran further added that he firmly believes that the truth will inevitably prevail, despite the “relentless trial by the media”.

Byju’s, which was once synonymous with ed-tech in the country, is facing a multitude of challenges, including mounting losses, severe cash crunch, and consequently, a declining valuation.