Four investors approach NCLT Bengaluru against Byju's alleging oppression and mismanagement

Four investors have approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) at Bengaluru against edu-tech start-up Byju's, alleging oppression and mismanagement by the company. .The four investors - EdTech Investments, a subsidiary of Prosus NV; General Atlantic Singapore; Peak XV Partners Operations LLC; and Sofina - have filed the application before the Tribunal, which is yet to be registered and listed for hearing. The group of investors has sought a declaration that founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Byju Raveendran and the present company management is unfit to run the company and should be ousted from the management. .The investors have also sought a declaration that the 'rights issue' launched by the company earlier this month is void. The said rights issue is reported to have involved a possible dilution in the shareholding of non-participating investors by 99%. Byju's has reportedly claimed that the investors had already fully subscribed to the rights issue with the parent company of Byju's, Think and Learn Pvt Ltd. .On a related note, the Karnataka High Court on February 22 stayed the effect of decisions that could be taken during an extra-ordinary general meeting (EGM) scheduled on February 23, including Raveendran's possible ouster from the company. Byju’s had argued that the EGM of the shareholders was scheduled at the instance of the shareholders without following the procedure under the Companies Act, 2013.In the said EGM, the shareholders had sought to reconstitute the Board of Directors of the company. .Meanwhile, applications have also been filed by lenders of the company before the NCLT seeking the initiation of insolvency proceedings against Byju's.The first such petition was filed by digital marketing vendor Surfer Technologies, which was heard by NCLT Bengaluru on February 6. The second such plea was moved by and international lender, Glas Trust Company LLC, and a third was then filed by a business process outsourcing (BPO) entity called Teleperformance Business Services, which was heard on February 8.