Peak XV Outlines Decision to Quit Byju's Board of Directors Following Prosus' Incendiary Letter

Peak XV Partners, formerly Sequoia Capital India, has addressed a letter to its Limited Partners (LPs) explaining GV Ravishankar's decision to resign from the board of ed-tech business Byju's. The VC firm, the tech company's second-largest institutional shareholder, told LPs that Ravishankar's decision to stand down from the panel was due to Byju's lack of transparency in giving business updates and information to investors. 

Byju's management was unwilling to follow the advice of Peak XV

"The marking down of our investments reflects our lack of visibility into Byju's up-to-date audited financials and our inability to influence it to take corrective measures," said the letter to LPs. They went on to say that Byju's management was unwilling to follow the advice of Peak XV's representative on the board.

Byju's ignorance toward Prosus officials

Prosus, a venture capital investor in the Netherlands, commented similarly on Tuesday. The VC fund stated in an official statement that its director Russel Dreseinstock's decision to step down from Byju's board was triggered after it became evident that he could not meet his fiduciary obligation to serve the firm's long-term interests and its stakeholders. They also stated that the tech company's executive leadership regularly ignored Prosus officials' advice on strategic, operational, legal, and corporate governance issues.

Prosus said, "Despite repeated efforts from our Director, executive leadership at Byju's regularly disregarded advice and recommendations relating to strategic, operational, legal, and corporate governance matters."

"It became clear that our Director was unable to fulfil his fiduciary duty to serve the long-term interests of the Company and its stakeholders," they continued.

Peak XV is to reduce the value of their stake in Byju's

Peak XV also stated that they intend to reduce the value of their stake in the company. "We intend to significantly reduce our investment in Byju's during the next reporting cycle," the letter added.