Bhavik Koladiya, Ashneer Grover fight over BharatPe stake: Report

More details have emerged on the row between Ashneer Grover and his fight with BharatPe founder Bhavik Koladiya, with Koladiya now talking to lawyers regarding his stake given to Grover earlier.

The board of the fintech company has said that it will not get involved in the tussle and the shareholders will have to sort out the issue.

Koladiya who had founded BharatPe had assumed the role of a consultant after he was convicted of credit card fraud in the US. He had then split his stake between Grover and another co-founder Shashvat Nakrani.

Grover resigned over an inquiry into him regarding financial misappropriation by him and his wife Madhuri Grover, who was sacked as the head of controls of the company, and he has been trying to sell his stake in the company.

Also read: Ashneer Grover quits as BharatPe MD, board planned action against him

Grover currently holds around 8.5-9.5% stake in BharatPe and Koladiya should ideally get about 4% of this, a person with knowledge of the matter told Economic Times newspaper without identifying himself.

BharatPe’s last valuation was pegged at $2.8 billion after a $370 million funding in August 2021. This means Grover’s stake of 8.5% would amount to $238 million, and Koladiya’s stake from this would come to 112 million.

Koladiya is learnt to be consulting with lawyers on the matter as relations between him and Grover have worsened.

“Given the way things have panned out in the last week or so, there will be more conflict related to Koladiya’s stake in the firm and the previous agreements,” the person was quoted as saying by ET.

This is an issue BharatPe’s shareholders will need to sort out, with the company board unlikely to intervene on the matter.

Nakrani, in a fresh letter to employees, has said that Grover tried to create a false narrative about the company that “we have built together with the right spirit”.

“While the content of the enquiry report is confidential and as a board member, I am not at liberty to disclose its findings, I am proud of the fact that our board acted quickly and decisively to uphold good corporate governance,” he told employees.

“This whole episode is an aberration and not the norm and the company will turn this crisis into an opportunity,” he said.