Razorpay announces ESOP buyback of Rs 73 crore for 750 workers

Bengaluru: FinTech unicorn Razorpay on Thursday announced its third employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) Buyback programme worth Rs 73 crore for its 750 employees.

According to the company, all the existing and former employees of Razorpay who hold vested stocks will be eligible to sell up to 33 per cent of their vested ESOP shares.

Razorpay's two investors Sequoia Capital India and GIC will be the buyers involved in this development.

"This ESOP Buyback is our little way of giving back to the employees for their contribution and a form of wealth creation for all, as it is important for us to ensure that our employees also grow along with the company," said Harshil Mathur, CEO and Co-Founder, Razorpay.

"Our current and former employees, even as young as 23, will be eligible for this incentive, irrespective of ranks," he added.

Razorpay's 1,350-strong team raised $100 million Series-D funding in October last year.

Razorpay was one of the very few early stage companies when its first liquidity event through ESOP encashment occurred in November 2018 for its 140 employees then. The transaction was done at a 50 per cent premium to the valuation.

The second ESOP sale happened in November 2019, during which approximately 400 employees were eligible.

To date, the company has awarded ESOPs to 1,000 employees, with current employees holding a majority share.

The company said it has hired over 550 employees in the last year and has also created cross-functional growth opportunities for its existing employees.

Recently, the company announced to hire 650 employees across products in the next one year.