Byju’s is in the news again because of disruptions during its investor extraordinary general meeting (EGM). Anonymous individuals tried to disrupt the virtual proceedings.
According to recent reports, the EGM faced numerous technical issues and witnessed employee protests. Three registered shareholders were unable to join the meeting, either due to access issues or because they were forcefully removed.
The voting poll had only one agenda item, and the EGM should have been adjourned due to the absence of the founders as required by law.
The company declared that the EGM was not conducted properly and violated legal agreements under the Companies Act 2013. Byju’s founder, Ravindran, and other board members did not attend the invalid EGM. This means the EGM, if still held, did not have enough attendees to proceed with discussions or voting.
Only 37 out of 170 attempted attendees joined after verifying pre-authorised names: 8 were Byju’s employees, 5 were legal representatives, and 24 were investors. Notably, Raveendran, his co-founder Divya Gokulnath, and his brother Riju Ravindran chose not to participate. Voting was slated to end by 12:30 on 23 February 2024, with results expected shortly after.
Byju’s, once India’s top edtech startup, has faced criticism since early 2022 for various problems such as accounting issues, claims of mis-selling, and large-scale job cuts. Over the past year, it has let go of numerous employees due to a decline in venture capital funding and reduced demand for online learning. Additionally, some investor board members departed due to disagreements with Raveendran.
