Perfios Introduces INR 645 Cr New ESOP Scheme

Nitin Konde, Varun Bhardwaj

27 Feb 2025 — 2 min read

Perfios Launches INR 645 Crore ESOP Scheme for Employees

Ahead of its much-awaited $500 million initial public offering (IPO), Fintech SaaS startup Perfios has developed a new employee stock option plan (ESOP) for its staff called "Perfios ESOP 2025-A." At an extraordinary general meeting on February 5, the company's board approved the plan to launch the new ESOP program. The company will offer 2.05 lakh stock options to its employees via the Perfios ESOP 2025-A program, according to regulatory records that are available at the Registrar of Companies. The development was initially reported by Entrackr. According to the report, the recently added stock options are valued at over INR 645 Cr, or almost $76 million.

What is the New ESOP Plan and Company’s Preparation Before its IPO?

Under the new plan, after the four-year vesting period is up, Perfios will issue, distribute, and allot an equal number of equity shares to its employees. Perfios, which was founded in 2008 by VR Govindarajan and Debasish Chakraborty, offers financial institutions software solutions for a variety of purposes, including credit decisions, analytics, onboarding automation, and due diligence. After raising $80 million from Teachers' Venture Growth (TVG), the late-stage investment division of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, a Canadian pension fund, Perfios became a unicorn in March 2024. The most recent development coincides with rumours that Perfios intended to raise $500 million at a $2 billion valuation through its initial public offering (IPO). There have been rumours that the fintech SaaS startup was considering going public in 2024. In November 2023, Perfios named Anu Mathew as chief people officer (CPO) and Sumit Nigam as chief technology officer (CTO) in anticipation of a possible initial public offering (IPO).

Perfios’ Recent Developments and Financial Outlook

According to reports, Perfios was in negotiations to enter the US market in October 2024 as part of its development strategies to spur growth. For an undisclosed sum, it purchased CustomerXPs, the parent company of banking fraud management startup Clari5, earlier this month. From INR 7.8 Cr in the previous fiscal year to INR 71.7 Cr in the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24), Perfios' consolidated net profit soared by 819%. From INR 406.8 Cr in FY23 to INR 557.8 Cr in the year under review, revenue from operations increased 37.1%.

ESOP Getting Popular Among New-Age Tech Companies

As an attraction tactic and a means of generating income, a number of cutting-edge software companies, like Razorpay, Flipkart, Swiggy, Nykaa, and Delhivery, have offered their staff ESOPs in recent years. In 2024, 16 cutting-edge tech businesses took part in ESOP buybacks, creating $148 million in wealth for their employees, in addition to Indian startups issuing ESOPs.