Flipkart completes buyback of employee stock options worth over USD 100 mn

E-commerce major Flipkart on Thursday said it has completed an Employee Stock Options repurchase programme worth over USD 100 million buying back shares from more than 3,000 past and present employees of the group.

"...over 3,000 past and present employees of the Flipkart Group participated in the buyback offer that led to a disbursement of over USD 100 million," Flipkart said in a statement.

Earlier this year, Flipkart had raised close to USD 4 billion funding this year from investors, including Japan's SoftBank, Chinese internet giant Tencent and software major Microsoft.

Flipkart said it had started the programme in October, wherein all eligible current and former employees of Flipkart, and group companies Myntra, Jabong and PhonePe were offered to sell to the company a part of their vested ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) units.

"The repurchase programme is the single largest liquidity providing event in India by an unlisted, private company to its ESOP holders," the statement said.

It added that this is the fourth time in the past five years when Flipkart has allowed its ESOP holders to encash a percentage of their vested stock options.

"...we believe they (employees) should be equal partners in Flipkart's success...We are delighted to be setting the benchmark on this important parameter, not only in the startup industry but the wider Indian private sector as well," Flipkart co-founders Sachin Bansal (also Chairman of Flipkart)and Binny Bansal (Group CEO) said.