Spinny completes $12M maiden ESOP buyback event

Used car marketplace Spinny, which recently turned unicorn in Series E round of funding, has announced the completion of its first Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) buyback plan worth $12 million. The buyback was open to both current and former employees of the company.

Spinny did not comment on the number of employees who participated in the buyback or details of the event till the time of publishing the article. 

“The ESOP pool was constituted to ensure that our team members are rewarded for their belief in Spinny’s vision, and relentless hard work that goes in turning  vision into  reality,” said Niraj Singh, Founder and CEO at Spinny, in a statement.

He added, “It is imperative to nurture a working culture that inspires each and every team member to do the best work and have a say in all internal processes and decisions with a shared ownership approach in the truest sense. We are grateful to each member of the Spinny family for their determination and contribution in making us Spinny.”

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The company recently raised $283 million from Abu Dhabi based ADQ, Tiger Global Management, Avenir Growth, Feroze Dewan’s Arena Holdings, and Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who has come in as a strategic investor.

Founded in 2015 by Niraj, Mohit Gupta and Ramanshu Mahaur, Spinny is currently valued at $1.8 billion. It competes with the likes of Cars24, CarDekho and IPO-bound Droom.

Given the funding upcycle and demand for talent, multiple Indian startups have announced ESOP buyback events this year. Edtech companies like Simplilearn, Vedantu, upGrad as well as others like Meesho, Moglix and Locus have conducted ESOP buybacks this year on the back of raising fresh funds. 

Others like Licious and Teachmint and others have also come up with a continuous liquidity plan for ESOPs to retain talent.