The company said that it has granted 17,06,829 stock options under Esop (employee stock ownership plan) 2019, as determined by its nomination and remuneration committee (NRC).
Each stock option is convertible into one fully paid up equity share having a face value of Rs 1 each. The exercise price has been set at Rs 9 per stock option.
At Paytm’s opening share price of Rs 851.5 apiece on July 21, these stock options would be worth Rs 145.3 crore. However, how much an employee gets will depend on the stock price when he or she chooses to exercise these options.
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Additionally, the company has also cancelled 53,250 stock options, in accordance with the terms and conditions of ESOP 2019, it said in the filing.
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In May last year, Paytm had granted 3.97 million new stock options to employees under the One97 Employees Stock Option Scheme 2019 (‘Esop 2019’).The exercise price of those stock options was also set at Rs 9. In a separate filing around the same time, the Noida-based fintech also allotted 177,114 equity shares to employees who have vested their options.
The company later clarified that the Esops allotted are a part of Paytm’s existing stock option pool.
The news around granting stock options to employees comes when Paytm’s stock price has been on the upswing in recent months. The stock’s current 52-week high is Rs 915; this is a strong revival from its 52-week low of Rs 439.
The payments major is now betting on credit to revive its business and become profitable. In the March quarter of FY2023, Paytm had announced a total income of Rs 1,936 crore, with overall expenditure at Rs 1,981 crore. The company recorded a net loss of Rs 203 crore for the quarter.
Earlier this month, Softbank, one of Paytm’s biggest backers, sold an additional 2% stake in One 97 Communications, the parent of Paytm, in a series of transactions, generating $180-200 million, ET had reported.
The move took the Japanese investment major’s stake in the payments company below 10% for the first time.