With the Expansion of the ESOP Pool, Ixigo Grants 17.57 Lakh Stock Options

Nitin Konde, Varun Bhardwaj

Nov 13, 2024 — 3 min read

Ixigo Expands ESOP Pool, Grants 17.57 Lakh Stock Options

With the issuance of 17.57 lakh stock options under ESOP 2024, online travel aggregator (OTA) Ixigo has extended its employee stock option plan (ESOP). The company stated in an exchange filing that the issuance of 17,57,156 options under ESOP 2024 was authorised by its nominating and compensation committee.

Each option will convert into an equal number of equity shares, and they will vest over a four-year period in equal annual increments of 25% each. At an exercise price of INR 93 per share, the options have been granted.

The Reason Behind This Move

Ixigo stated that the goal of the allocation is to retain and reward the finest talent, just like it is for issuing ESOPs. Additionally, the business stated that it wishes to provide current staff with additional pushed prizes.

The announcement was made just days after Ixigo released its second-quarter FY25 financial results. In the September quarter of 2024, its consolidated net profit fell 51% to INR 13.08 Cr from INR 26.70 Cr in the same quarter the previous year. On a sequential basis, profit decreased from INR 14.85 Cr by 12%. The main cause of the earnings drop was an increase in total tax costs, which in Q2 FY25 was INR 5.26 Cr.

Acquiring 51% Stake in Zoop Web Services

In addition to its financial results, the firm disclosed that it had paid INR 12.54 Cr ($1.4 Mn) for a 51% investment in train food delivery startup Zoop Web Services, which was acquired through a combination of primary and secondary share transactions.

Several public startups have announced the issuance of stock options under ESOP programmes in recent months. IdeaForge, a drone business, gave its staff more than 2,600 stock options earlier. The supply chain giant Delhivery also gave its workers roughly 73,000 stock options earlier this month.

Current ESOP Scenario in India

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.