Two top investors in Byju‘s confirmed on Friday that their representatives had resigned from the board of the once high-flying Indian startup, which has been battling pressure from lenders amid a steep drop in its valuation.
The resignations of GV Ravishankar of Peak XV Partners, earlier Sequoia Capital India, and Russell Dreisenstock of Prosus could exacerbate troubles at Byju’s, which was valued at $22 billion (nearly Rs. 1,80,350 crore) last year.
“We are committed to supporting the company for bringing on board an independent director in order to strengthen business processes and internal control mechanisms,” Peak XV Partners said in a statement to Reuters.
The confirmation of resignations comes after sources told Reuters that three Byju’s board members, including a representative from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, had quit recently.
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
News of their departure came on Thursday, the same day Deloitte disclosed it was resigning as the company’s auditor because Byju’s had delayed financial statements for 2021-22 and not provided documents, even after sending several letters to its board.
When Reuters asked Byju’s about the resignations earlier this week, the company said the information was “completely speculative” and firmly rejected those claims.
Sources told Reuters on Friday that Byju’s was asking its three global investors to reconsider their decision to quit its board.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
