Indian online e-commerce giant Flipkart has recently completed its $100 million re-purchase of employee stock options (ESOPs), marking it the largest share buyback programme in Indian startup history, a financial daily reported.
In a release on Wednesday, Flipkart said that over 3,000 existing and former employees of Flipkart, PhonePe, Myntra, and Jabong had participated in this programme, Mint reported.
“Employees are our biggest source of strength, without whom Flipkart couldn’t have built the e-commerce industry in India. As an organisation, we believe they should be equal partners in Flipkart’s success. This ESOP repurchase programme is an extension of that culture, and a token of thanks for the dedication and hard work they 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,” said Flipkart co-founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal in a statement.
Flipkart has til now completed 4 buybacks programme for employees. Earlier in last month, Pixr8 reported that Japanese multinational telecommunications corporation SoftBank had offered to buy some shares from its former and existing employees, valuing the Indian unicorn around $10 billion. SoftBank had offered $85-89 per share.
SoftBank, with the backing of its $100-billion Vision Fund, is committed to taking long-term bets on e-commerce and ride-hailing companies in India.