Embattling edtech company Byju’s on Friday said investors have no voting rights on CEO change, after statements from a select few investors surfaced, calling for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to replace founder and group CEO Byju Raveendran.
Think & Learn Private Limited, the parent of Byju’s, said it will continue with the proposed $200 million rights issue after receiving encouraging responses from multiple investors.
In a separate letter to employees seen by IANS, the company accused certain investors of “conspiring” against the company in this time of crisis.
The company hit back at the investors a day after they launched the campaign to oust its leadership.
“Certain investors, seeing the crisis we faced, saw it as an opportunity to conspire and demand the stepping down of our founder as the Group CEO of Byju’s,” the company said in a letter seen by IANS.
“We are pained to see this action from a few of the investors who should have supported us in our fight at these challenging times, instead of directly speaking to the media. The founders are the largest investors and the greatest fighters for Byju’s,” it added.
The company also mentioned that the $200 million rights issue has “already received commitments for more than 100 per cent of the proposed amount”.
In the letter, the edtech firm also noted “a slight delay in salary disbursements this month because of the artificially induced crisis by these select investors”.
The company assured employees that the salaries will be paid in a phased manner starting February 2 and the process will be completed by Monday, i.e. February 5.
“Byju sir has personally shouldered the responsibility of paying our salaries over the past several months, including pledging his only home to ensure our financial security. This month is no different,” the letter read.
Byju’s has reportedly delayed salaries of its employees for the month of January.
The company had earlier listed February 1 for the January salary pay-out for its employees.
The salary delay came as the Byju’s Alpha unit in the US has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the US court of Delaware, listing liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion.
