Prosus NV, an investor in tutorial startup Byjus, on Tuesday mentioned the bothered corporate’s reporting and governance construction didn’t evolve sufficiently for an organization of that scale and it “regularly disregarded advice” regardless of repeated efforts through the Dutch-listed generation company’s former director.
Prosus, which this 12 months slashed its valuation of Byju’s to USD 5.1 billion from USD 22 billion remaining 12 months, mentioned the verdict for its director to step down from Byju’s board remaining month was once principally as a result of he was once “unable to fulfill his fiduciary duty to serve the long-term interests of the company and its stakeholders.”
Byju’s spokesperson mentioned: “We have noted the observations of our valued investors. We have updated our shareholders about definitive steps taken to improve corporate governance and financial reporting”.
In a commentary, Prosus mentioned Byju’s has grown significantly since its first funding in 2018.
“But, over time, its reporting and governance structures did not evolve sufficiently for a company of that scale,” it mentioned.
“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 mentioned.
It went directly to state that the verdict for its director to step down from the Byju’s board was once taken after “it became clear that he was unable to fulfill his fiduciary duty to serve the long-term interests of the Company and its stakeholders.”
“As a shareholder, Prosus will continue to assert its rights, collaborating with other shareholders and government authorities to safeguard the long-term interests of the company and its stakeholders,” it added.
Byju’s, it mentioned, sits on the intersection of India and schooling, two crucial and strategic spaces of funding for Prosus.
“Although we no longer have a representative serving on the Board of the company, we continue to believe in the potential of Byju’s and its role in revolutionizing access to quality education in India and around the world,” it mentioned.