Zomato, Axis Bank and others announce New Equity Shares, Classplus announce its 2nd Buyback and Finit sets a Benchmark in 100% Employee Ownership

Welcome to the next edition of Fables of ESOPs. January witnessed a low start in the ESOP Market. To set the pace right for the rest of the year, we see February picking up the momentum and giving us news to rejoice. This month saw several new ESOP allocations, a highly awaited ESOP Buyback program and a remarkable 100% ownership transition to employees, which sets the benchmark high for companies envisioning the same goals.  

Let’s dive right into the details.  

Zomato Allots 10.88 Cr New ESOPs

Ahead of its Q3 FY24 earnings, food tech major Zomato allotted 10.88 Cr equity shares, having a face value of Rs. 1, under its multiple employee stock option plans (ESOPs). After this, the issued and paid-up equity share capital of the company would be increased to almost INR 882 Cr from INR 871.1 Cr earlier.  

This came within 3 months of its earlier announcement in November 2023, where it allotted nearly 10.65 Cr equity shares under multiple employee stock option plans (ESOPs).

All this points to a surge in Zomato’s confidence after a profitable Q2 FY24, with a net profit of INR 36 crore and an operational income of INR 2,848 crore. The robust financial performance is presumably serving as a catalyst for a stronger resolve for employee ownership and incentivization.  

Route Mobile Allots 1.67 Lakh Equity Shares

Route Mobile is a cloud-based VoIP software provider that offers mobile communication solutions. Route Mobile's services include Text messaging, Voice calling, Number lookups, Firewall, Email, SMS filtering and analytics etc. It is a publicly listed company and among the leading Cloud Communications Platform service provider offering Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS) solutions.

Recently, Route Mobile has allotted 1,67,500 equity shares under its ESOP plan. Consequent to this allotment, the paid-up capital of the Company stands at Rs. 62,78,85,320 consisting of 6,27,88,532 equity shares of face value of Rs. 10 each.

Axis Bank allots 1.68 Lakh Equity Shares  

The Bank has allotted 1,68,064 equity shares of Rs. 2/- each on February 20, 2024, pursuant to the exercise of stock options under its ESOP Scheme. The Bank's paid-up share capital has increased to Rs. 6,17,07,89,416 (3,08,53,94,708 equity shares).

Capillary Raises $95 Mn in Secondary Fundraise, Allots $20 Mn for ESOP Payouts

Capillary Technologies, a company that offers solutions for customer loyalty and engagement, has increased its Series D funding to 140 million, with 95 million obtained through its secondary fundraise. The company announces that $20 million of this amount will be used for employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) payouts.

Finit Announces Transition to 100% ownership of Company by Employees  

Finit is a technology company that specializes in providing solutions for financial institutions and businesses to optimize their operations and improve efficiency. They offer a range of products and services, including financial management software, data analytics tools, and consulting services.

Finit views this transition to an ESOP as the ultimate alignment of interests across their employees, clients, vendor partners, and all others within the Finit ecosystem. Through complete employee ownership, Finit can endure as an independent company focused on core values facilitating client and team member success, free from the pressures of external investors.

Edtech Startup Classplus announces Second ESOP Buyback

Under this Buyback, more than 150 employees across roles and business verticals are eligible to sell their vested shares to the company.

The company, last valued at more than $600 million, has raised over $150 million from global investors like Tiger Global, Alpha Wave Incubation, RTP Global, Blume Ventures, Peak XV’s Surge, Spiral Ventures, Strive, Times Internet and Abu Dhabi-based Chimera Ventures.

These developments underscore a growing trend towards aligning employee interests with company success and fostering a culture of ownership and engagement along with the resolve of coming out of the funding winter and moving back on track. As companies continue to prioritize employee participation in their growth and success, the future of ESOPs looks promising, paving the way for a more inclusive and motivated workforce in the corporate landscape.

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