Byju Raveendran, founder of disputed edtech group Byju's, has announced that his board of directors will sell forfeited shares to prevent dilution of their holdings in a last resort to appease disgruntled investors in an Indian startup. He said he was considering selling it.
In an email to shareholders Friday morning, a copy of which was seen by TechCrunch, Raveendran said the startup's board would propose to investors to claim surrendered shares in a way that would prevent dilution of Byju's existing holdings. He said he is considering it.
Mr. Raveendran also informed shareholders that the startup has already received the required 50% or more votes to increase the authorized share capital of the startup in order to activate the $200 million recently raised through a rights issue. I told him.
Prosus Ventures, Peak XV Partners and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative are among the investors who did not participate in Byju's recent $200 million rights issue. Investors instead used legal means to remove Mr. Raveendran and his family from the startup and to invalidate the rights issue.
“I have always founded Byju's with a spirit of equality and fairness, and it was never my intention to leave investors behind, irrespective of their shareholding size,” Raveendran said on Friday. wrote in an email. “From the beginning of this company, my vision has been to take everyone from one milestone to the next. And it has always been my vision that we can overcome challenges together. That was my belief.”
This is a developing story. More to come.