BharatPe’s original cofounder Bhavik Koladiya moves on

Koladiya’s contract has not been renewed, according to two people who were aware of the discussions. He was removed from BharatPe’s cap table after being convicted of credit card fraud in the US in 2015.

BharatPe confirmed the development to ET, saying Koladiya expressed an interest in spending time on other assignments outside the company.

“Bhavik Koladiya has been associated with BharatPe as an independent consultant, guiding our product and technology teams. His contract tenure ended on July 31, 2022 and he expressed his desire to spend time on other assignments outside BharatPe. Bhavik has been one of our biggest advocates and has been an integral part of our journey,” the company said.

Ashneer Grover’s stake

On May 11, BharatPe said in a statement it had
initiated action to claw back former cofounder and managing director Ashneer Grover’s restricted shares in the company as per the shareholders’ agreement.

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We
reported on March 2 that BharatPe was looking to claw back Grover’s shares after he abruptly resigned from the company and its board on March 1 following a months-long controversy.

“Please note that we have initiated appropriate action against former founder and MD Ashneer Grover. We would not like to comment on the legal process concerning such action,” the company said on Tuesday.

According to the Articles of Association (AOA) — a legal document containing rules for the internal management of a company — filed by BharatPe’s parent Resilient Innovations with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) in September 2021, if a founder terminates his employment without the consent of the board, the company will buy back the shares at lower than their fair market value.

The company defines restricted shares as 75% of the founder’s shares after BharatPe’s Series C funding in 2019 and follow-on shares issued at the closing of Series E funding.

In an
interaction with ET on March 1, Grover said that he would lose out on management stock options worth Rs 100 crore as a result of his spat with the company’s board.