ShopClues investors have rallied behind the firm’s management led by Radhika Aggarwal and Sanjay Sethi in their showdown with founder and former CEO Sandeep Aggarwal—the estranged husband of Radhika—who went public about their marital discord and accused her of stalling his re-entry into the company. The firm’s board has rejected Sandeep's claims and termed his public outbursts as "disappointing."
“We are proud of the fantastic progress made by the ShopClues team under the leadership of Radhika and Sanjay. The company’s differentiated business model and capital-efficient approach have enabled it to become a market leader and grow 30 times under this management," said a statement issued by the ShopClues board.
"It is very disappointing to see a former founder who disassociated from the company for his criminal wrongdoings, is now engaged in a personal vendetta on a public forum. Our goal is to create value for all stakeholders and we remain focused on working closely with Radhika and Sanjay and the management team to continue to scale the company as it captures the massive opportunity which lies ahead of us,†it said.
Besides Radhika and Sanjay, Anup Gupta of Nexus Venture Partners, Sanjeev Aggarwal of Helion Ventures as well as representatives of Tiger Global and GIC are on ShopClues’ board.
Following his arrest in the US for insider trading in July 2013, Sandeep was forced to resign from ShopClues. He subsequently got bail and returned to India while legal issues in the US have not been settled yet.
"Sandeep and the company got into an agreement where besides other things it was agreed that in an event Sandeep pled guilty or is otherwise convicted or found guilty for the alleged crimes, Sandeep will cease to be a consultant, will have no operating role in the company and will relinquish the right to be a board director or have any active ability to elect or remove any non-CEO board directors," the company said.
Sandeep had accused Radhika and Sanjay of denying him the right to nominate a board member and thwarting his efforts to return to the company. When contacted Sandeep said he would adopt legal measures to establish his rights. "I have faith in the law of the land and I hope the board would do a responsible job in the long term in interest of the company," he said.
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