BYJU’S To Set Up Board Advisory Committee Amid Ongoing Battles

Edtech giant BYJU’S is reportedly in the process of setting up a Board Advisory Committee (BAC) to provide advice and guidance to CEO Byju Raveendran on the matter of the composition of the board and the governance structure which would suit the edtech best.

The discussions around the committee happened at the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held by the crisis-ridden edtech giant on July 4.

According to a Moneycontrol report citing Raveendran, the BAC will serve as a working group made up of independent directors with credible backgrounds and relevant experience from diverse corporate fields.

The BYJU’S CEO also told investors that the company will hold another EGM soon in around three weeks, where the members and composition of the BAC will be discussed.

The development comes as last month, three members of the board of the edtech, including Peak VX Partners’ GV Ravishankar, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Vivian Vu, and Prosus’ Russell Dreisenstock, put in their papers.

The July 4 meeting also saw investor representatives pose questions to Byju, Divya Gokulnath and the newly appointed CFO Ajay Goel. The investors sought updates on the Aakash IPO timeline, the company’s audit, the TLB resolution and fundraising efforts.

On the tussle regarding Term Loan B, Raveendran was said to have assured the investors that BYJU’S is engaging in active and constructive discussions. According to the Moneycontrol report, he added that there are reasons to be optimistic about a mutually acceptable resolution.

As was his communication during a town hall meeting held late last month, both BYJU’S and its lenders are looking to avoid legal proceedings and seek a mutually beneficial resolution.

The EGM also had Goel report that BYJU’S newly-appointed statutory auditor BDO has already started on the audit for Aakash, WhiteHat Jr, Think & Learn (BYJU’S parent company) and the overall consolidated group. 

The new CFO added that the auditor has allocated ‘significant resources’ for the audit. Goel said while the FY22 audit has been completed for most subsidiaries, BDO is working on the three aforementioned entities.

Incidentally, there were also media reports which mentioned a group of investors have called for the ouster of Raveendran and bringing in an interim CEO to steer the ship away from choppy waters. 

However, the reports were denied by Saurabh Gupta, managing partner at DST Global and Ark Impact Asset Management’s MD Alan Kim, both backers of the edtech giant.