10.58 Lakh Shares Are Allotted by ixigo Under ESOP Plans

Under many employee stock option plan (ESOP) strategies, online travel aggregator (OTA) ixigo has distributed 10.58 lakh equity shares to qualified employees. The travel tech startup stated in a filing with the markets that the shares were offered at a premium of INR 0.25 per share and an exercise price of INR 1.25 per share.
The company announced that 10,58,143 fully paid-up equity shares with a face value of INR 1/- each have been allotted to the option holders under the Le Travenues Technology - Employee Stock Option Scheme 2013,..., ESOS 2016,..., 2020,..., 2021..., according to the company's statement. The board of directors of the company has approved the allocation. Since the allocation, the travel tech platform's entire paid-up share capital has increased from INR 38.87 Cr to INR 38.97 Cr.
Step is Taken to Encourage and Retain
ixigo added that the purpose of the ESOPs was to "motivate and retain" bright workers and give them "additional deferred rewards." This comes after the business distributed over 4.6 lakh equity shares under different ESOP plans in December 2024. Before this, in November, the OTA granted 17.57 lakh more stock options under the ESOP 2024 scheme, increasing the size of its ESOP pool.
Financial Outlook of ixigo
The announcement coincided with the OTA's financial results for the third quarter (Q3) of the fiscal year 2024–2025 (FY25). Ixigo's consolidated net profit fell by half to INR 15.54 Cr in the quarter under review from INR 30.65 Cr in Q3 FY24 due to increased tax charges. In the meantime, operating revenue increased 42% to INR 241.76 Cr in Q3 FY25 from INR 170.55 Cr in Q3 FY24. In terms of operations, Ixigo's gross transaction volume (GTV) increased by 48% from INR 2,718.3 Cr in Q3 FY24 to INR 4,036.3 Cr during the quarter.
ESOP is Getting Popular Among Startups
According to a 2024 survey of 160 companies, 78% of them offered employee stock option plans (ESOPs) to their staff, a considerable increase from 59% in 2021. This indicates that ESOPs are becoming more and more popular among startup owners. More firms are now offering ESOPs to all employees, not only senior management, according to a survey done by Saison Capital, XA Network, and Carta. Compared to one in four in 2021, one in three firms now provides these plans to all employees.
Furthermore, the median ESOP pool size grew from 9% in 2021 to 12.6% in 2024, and 90% of founders now talk about ESOPs with candidates during interviews or job offers, up from 75% in 2021. Additionally, the reasons for providing ESOPs have changed; in 2024, 40% of founders cited cost reductions, up from 28% in 2021.
The founders cited the necessity to retain people as the second most important reason for putting these plans into action, behind creating a sense of ownership and company culture. Even with this increase, fewer than 30% of founders still fully understand the complexity of ESOPs, a percentage that hasn't changed since 2021.

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