ShopClues co-founder regrets Facebook outburst but stands by claims

Sandeep Aggarwal, co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of online marketplace ShopClues, said on Tuesday that he regretted using social media to vent against wife Radhika Ghai and current CEO Sanjay Sethi over his ouster from the Gurgaon-headquartered firm.

In a series of Facebook posts, Aggarwal had accused the duo of illegally ousting him from the company and changing the voting rights while he was away in the US. He also accused them intentionally and deliberately kicking out other founding members.

In a statement to Moneycontrol, Aggarwal, currently CEO of online marketplace Droom, said that in ShopClues he had lost the love of his life.

“While he [Aggarwal] stands by each and every word, he regrets having used the social media to express such an emotional outburst,” a statement by his media team said.

Meanwhile, Aggarwal has also filed a defamation case against his wife and Sethi in a Delhi court.

“Till date, Sandeep remains the largest individual shareholder of the company and the majority holder of the company's common shares,” the statement added.

ShopClues declined to comment. However, an earlier media statement issued by Radhika said, "I am shocked by unfounded and baseless allegations being made. In the interest of privacy of my family, I will not be commenting on any personal matters.”

According to Aggarwal, the problems arose when in October 2016 he came to know that ShopClues changed his right to nominate a board member way back in April 2014, during its Series C round. “I was kept in the dark by Radhika, Sanjay Sethi, and the ShopClues board for nearly two and half years,” Aggarwal claimed in the statement.

Legal experts claim that in case any one shareholder owns more than 26 percent, he or she has the potential to block board resolutions.

“Investors are generally very wary to invest in teams where any kind of family relationship exists," said a private equity investor on condition of anonymity. "In cases where an aggrieved shareholder owns more than a majority, it will become the job of the existing investors to support the company as new investors may be wary to enter,”

Aggarwal co-founded ShopClues along with his wife and Sethi, a former senior director at eBay, in 2011.

He stepped down as CEO in October 2013 after he was asked to cooperate with US authorities in an insider trading case of listed US corporations.

ShopClues has so far raised about USD 231 million from investors such as sovereign wealth fund GIC, Tiger Global and Nexus Venture Partners.