Exclusive: boAt adds fresh ESOPs worth $9 Mn

Festive season is around the corner and consumer electronics brand boAt has rewarded its employees by expanding its employee stock option (ESOP) pool.

The board at boAt has passed a special resolution to grant 9,55,523 ESOPs to its staff, regulatory filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows.

Every option will be converted into equity shares, said filings and as per Fintrackr’s estimates, the newly added ESOP options are worth around Rs 72 crore (approximately $9 million).

The objective of expanding the ESOP pool is “to promote the employee ownership and as well as to attract, retain, motivate and incentivize critical talents in the line with corporate growth," the filing said.

In October last year, boAt secured Rs 500 crore (equivalent to $60 million) from its existing shareholder Warburg Pincus and new investor Malabar Investments. The round helped boAt shelve its initial public offering (IPO) by 12-18 months as it was well capitalized. In the last quarter of FY22, boAt filed its DRHP with SEBI and got a nod from the regulator for Rs 2,000 crore IPO.

Launched in 2014, boAt controls five brands in its portfolio including boAt, Redgear (acquired in 2020), Tagg (acquired in 2022), wearable brand Defy and its own personal care and grooming brand Misfit. The partnerships with global companies like Qualcomm, a shareholder in boAt, Dolby, Dirac, and others have helped the company to dominate audio and smart wearable space.

According to TheKredible, the Gurugram-based firm has raised $177 million to date and witnessed 2.2X growth in revenue to Rs 2,873 crore in FY22. Its profit stood at Rs 68.7 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2022. The company claimed Rs 4,000 crore in revenue in the last fiscal year (FY23) and anticipated around 25% growth in the ongoing fiscal year or FY24. However, the firm is yet to report its audited FY23 numbers with the RoC.