166 current and former employees of Paytm convert ESOPs to shares

As many as 166 current and former Paytm employees have converted their Employee Stock Options (ESOPs) into shares, the company said in a regulatory filing.

IPO-bound Paytm has one of the largest ESOP pools in the startup ecosystem, and has given out ESOPs as rewards and benefits to employees, who have contributed to the growth of the company.

Paytm has a total paid up capital of Rs 60,69,41,722, with as many as 909 employees who have vested ESOPs with an approximate 14 million options vested.

To attract and retain talented professionals, Paytm last year amended certain aspects of its ESOP policy, introducing performance-based ESOPs.

Earlier, Paytm had written to its shareholders that employees who hold ESOPs will be able to turn them into shares and add them to their demat account. Given that turning ESOPs into shares comes at a cost and the employees also have to bear the tax amount for the same, Paytm will help employees get loans from its established lending partners, making it easier for employees to bear the cost of becoming a shareholder.

Paytm will facilitate loans of upto Rs 100 crore through its lending partners.

Additionally, Paytm will bear the interest of these loans for six months, so that employees are able to handle their finances better and yet, become proud shareholders of the company.

Paytm’s gross merchandise value, at Rs 4,03,300 crore, is the highest in the payments industry as per RedSeer’s analysis, while Paytm Payment Gateway is the largest payment gateway aggregator in India based on total transactions.

Paytm Money, the company’s bet on wealth management services, has built a strong holding for itself with a combined assets under management of Rs 5,200 crore in mutual funds, gold and stock broking, according to the company’s Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP).

The company’s lending business, merchant loans, as well as its buy now, pay later product, Paytm Postpaid is growing well, with an extension of the same also being launched recently called Paytm Postpaid Mini.

The company’s DRHP also says that it has disbursed 1.4 million loans in Q4FY21, almost 53 times more than the number of loans (26,000) disbursed during the same period in the previous year. With all of these revenue-driven businesses and a focused growth, Paytm has also turned contribution margin positive in FY21.