Peak XV, Prosus and Chan Zuckerberg confirm exit from Byju’s board

ET first reported on Thursday the resignations of GV Ravishankar, MD at Peak XV Partners (earlier Sequoia Capital India); Russell Dreisenstock, head of investments, food, at Prosus (earlier Naspers); and Vivian Wu of Chan Zuckerberg.

“We confirm that GV Ravishankar has resigned from the board of Think & Learn. We are committed to supporting the company for bringing on board an independent director to strengthen business processes and internal control mechanisms,” a spokesperson for Peak XV said in response to ET’s queries.

Similarly, Prosus confirmed Dreisenstock’s departure from Byju’s board. “The company is required to file the resignation letter with the MCA (ministry of corporate affairs) in India within the required time period,” said the Netherlands-listed firm.

By midnight, a spokesperson for Chan Zuckerberg said, “We confirm that Vivian Wu of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has resigned from the board of Think & Learn.”

On Thursday, Byju’s had denied these resignations.

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In a statement on Friday, Byju’s said it has been in constructive discussions with investors on reconstitution of the board, including the induction of independent directors. “The need for reconstitution arose as a few investors had to vacate the board seats due to their shareholding falling below a minimum required threshold, as per our SHA (shareholders’ agreement),” it said.“We want to reassure all stakeholders that we are actively working towards constituting a diverse and world-class board commensurate with the company’s size and scale,” the company said.

ET had reported that Deloitte had also stepped down as the edtech firm’s auditor, citing delay in furnishing 2021-22 financial statements.

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Testing times

The resignations come at a time Byju’s is caught in court cases with lenders, loan defaults and much-delayed filing of its financial results for the year ended March 31, 2022.

After these exits, Byju Raveendran and his family members — Divya Gokulnath and Riju Raveendran — are the remaining directors. Together, they own 26-27% in the company. Peak XV Partners held around 6% and Prosus had a 9.67% share.

Following Deloitte’s exit, Byju’s said in a statement on Thursday that it had appointed BDO (MSKA & Associates) as its statutory auditor for five years from fiscal year 2021-22.

The Bengaluru-headquartered startup is currently facing multiple challenges, including finalising new terms for its $1.2-billion term loan B.

Glas Trust Company is pursuing a legal action suit against the edtech firm in Delaware, US, and Byju’s has filed a suit against hedge fund Redwood and its entities in New York, against their demand for “accelerated repayment.”

However, the firm continues to hold one-to-one conversations with creditors to finalise fresh terms.

Led by founder Raveendran, Byju’s has been slashing thousands of jobs to cut costs amid a slowdown in funding and lack of growth in the online education sector as Covid-19 has ebbed.

Earlier this week, the General Atlantic-backed firm undertook a fresh round of layoffs that would impact up to 1,000 jobs, ET had reported. These layoffs are expected to be across departments in Byju’s as well as its coding subsidiary, Whitehat Jr.