Flipkart Employees Cash Out With $100 Million Share Buyback
Flipkart completes $100 million stock buyback programme
India’s homegrown e-commerce giant Flipkart has bought back $100 million employee stock options, making it the largest share repurchase plan by an Indian startup.
More than 3,000 past and present employees of the Flipkart Group, including Myntra, Jabong and PhonePe, participated in the buyback programme, Flipkart said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. This is Flipkart’s fourth buyback in the last five years where ESOP holders sold part of their vested stock options.
Employees are the “biggest source of strength” without whom Flipkart couldn’t have built the e-commerce industry in India, Chairman Sachin Bansal and Group CEO Binny Bansal said in the statement.
This ESOP repurchase programme is a token of thanks for the dedication and hard work they (employees) have put in over the years. We’re delighted to be setting the benchmark on this important parameter, not only in the startup industry but the wider Indian private sector as well.Sachin Bansal, Chairman & Binny Bansal, Group CEO Of Flipkart
Companies use employee stock options to attract and retaining talent as it makes employees part of the equity ownership of the company by paying a minimal amount.
The share repurchase comes after Flipkart successfully raised about $4 billion in fresh investment this year, of which $2.5 billion came from the SoftBank Vision Fund and $1.4 billion from Chinese internet conglomerate Tencent Holdings.