Unacademy plans to launch Rs 30Cr ESOP buyback offer in December this year

Unacademy, the Bengaluru-headquartered edtech startup, on Thursday said it will undertake an ESOP buyback programme of Rs 25-30 crore in December this year.

The buyback — which will be held on December 10, 2020, and is open for current and former employees — is the second such liquidity event held by the five-year-old startup, a statement said.

"All vested ESOPs until December 10, 2020, will be eligible for the buyback, and current and exited employees may liquidate between 25 and 100 percent of vested ESOPs based on a specified scheme," it added.

The startup said the size of the buyback pool is likely to be around Rs 25-30 crore, based on the number of ESOPs liquidated by employees.

Unacademy had conducted its first ESOP buyout in September 2019, and at that time, the buyback pool was about a tenth of the current buyback size, the statement said.

Unacademy employees — who have been granted ESOPs and have completed more than one year with the startup — will be eligible to participate in the latest liquidity round.

Last month, Unacademy announced raising around Rs 1,125 crore in a funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, along with participation from existing investors, including Facebook.

The fund infusion had valued Unacademy at around Rs 10,900 crore. In February, it had raised around Rs 780 crore in funding led by social media major Facebook and General Atlantic.

The edtech space has seen strong growth globally with the COVID-19 pandemic serving as an inflection point, with rapid growth seen in the addition of learners and onboarding of teachers.

Unacademy Co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal, in a note to employees, thanked the staff for playing a crucial role in the startup's growth and encouraged them to continue their efforts to democratise education in the country.

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Founded in 2015 by Gaurav Munjal, Roman Saini, and Hemesh Singh, Unacademy has over 45,000 registered educators and 40 million learners.

The Unacademy Group consists of Unacademy, Unacademy Subscription, Wifistudy, Kreatryx, PrepLadder, Codechef, Mastree, Graphy, Coursavy, Chamomile Tea with Toppers, and Let's Crack It brands.

The startup is backed by prominent investors, including Facebook, General Atlantic, SoftBank, Sequoia India, SAIF Partners, Nexus Venture Partners, Steadview Capital, and Blume Ventures.