Exclusive: Dhan buys back Rs 50 Cr worth ESOP from 180 employees

Stockbroking and investment platform Dhan has completed a company-led ESOP buyback worth nearly Rs 50 crore, providing liquidity to around 180 employees, according to three people aware of the development.

“The buyback was funded entirely from the company’s internal reserves, reflecting its sustained profitability over the past few years. The company has been profitable for the last three years, which enabled it to carry out this ESOP buyback from its own cash reserves,” said one of the sources, requesting anonymity.

“In the liquidity event, employees are estimated to have received payouts ranging between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 35 lakh on average, although the final amount varied depending on individual ESOP holdings and tenure,”  said the second source who also wished not to be named. 

There could be some differences in payouts, but broadly, this is the range most employees fall into above range, said sources.

Founded in 2021 by former Paytm Money executive Pravin Jadhav and his team, Dhan positions itself as a technology-first platform for active traders and Gen Z investors. Notably, Jadhav did not make any personal gains at Paytm Money, where he built the business from scratch over nearly three years. However, within four years of Dhan’s inception, he has enabled meaningful liquidity opportunities for employees.

Back in 2020, Entrackr was first to report the exit of Pravin Jadhav over differences between Vijay Shekhar Sharma and him over his compensation, ESOPs and ownership structure in Paytm Money.

Dhan has declined to comment on the details of the ESOP buyback.

The ESOP buyback follows a strong financial year for Dhan. The company reported around Rs 900 crore in revenue in FY25, a sharp increase from the previous fiscal year, while continuing to remain cash-flow positive, according to people familiar with its financials.

The employee liquidity event also comes months after Dhan raised over $120 million in a Series B round led by Hornbill Capital in October, which turned the company into a unicorn at a valuation of around $1.2 billion. The round also included secondary exits for early investors, delivering significant returns, as high as 45X, to angels such as Cred founder Kunal Shah and members of the PhonePe founding network.

Industry observers say such company-led ESOP buybacks signals confidence in long-term growth, particularly amid intense competition from players like Zerodha, Groww and Angel One.