Paytm's former and existing staff vest ESOPs worth Rs 14 Cr

Paytm emerged as the largest privately valued company in India when it raised $1 billion from Ant Financial and SoftBank Vision Fund in November 2019. With regular fund infusions and an impressive valuation, the firm has also been rewarding its employees by allocating substantial stock options on several occasions.

Paytm had recently announced Rs 250 crore worth ESOPs to its high-performing employees and new hires. The firm has now allotted equity shares worth $1.83 million (around Rs 14 crore) to its employees who exercised their options vested to them under the ESOP scheme 2008.

According to regulatory filings, the company has allotted 7,177 equity shares at a discounted rate of Rs 90 per share to existing and former employees. For context, the Noida-based company had raised nearly $36 million from Discovery Capital in February this year with its shares priced at $254.58 each.

The largest beneficiary of the allotment is Deependra Rathore, who will get around 5,000 shares worth Rs 9.5 crore. Rathore is senior vice president (Technology) in the payments vertical of the company. Other allottees include several vice-presidents and tech executives.

Paytm has been one of the frontrunners in terms of the value of the ESOPs is concerned. It has over Rs 3,100 crore worth ESOPs until late last year. The SoftBank-backed firm added 2,42,904 shares worth Rs 357.66 crore to the revamped ESOPs pool in October 2019.

After Paytm BYJU’s also had estimated ESOP value in the tune of Rs 1,500 crore. Swiggy recently expanded its ESOP pool to Rs 1,589 crore ($211.8 million). Besides, the likes of OYO, PolicyBazarr, Zomato, Ola and a few others have significant equity locked in employee stock options.

Update: The story has been updated with additional inputs