Paytm approves allotment of 2.8 lakh ESOP shares to employees

One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, informed the stock exchanges that its Nomination and Remuneration Committee approved the allotment of 2,81,394 equity shares to eligible employees through the Employee Stock Option Scheme (ESOP) on July 7, 2024.

The breakdown of shares allotted is 2,78,858 shares under the 2019 ESOP and 2,536 shares under the 2008 ESOP.

Following this allotment, Paytm's total issued, subscribed, and paid-up equity share capital has increased from Rs 635,992,696 to Rs 636,274,090, each share having a face value of Re 1.

The exercise price per share was Rs 9, including a premium of Rs 8.

At the time of publishing this story, shares of One97 Communications had risen by nearly 8.5% to Rs 474 per share. The fintech's shares are gradually consolidating after falling to its 52-week low due to the Reserve Bank of India sanctioning Paytm Payments Bank.

Notably, last week, Zomato told the Indian bourses it secured majority approval for its ESOP expansion plan, despite nearly a fourth of investors opposing the motion.

In its quarterly earnings statement, the foodtech giant revealed plans to establish an ESOP pool of 18.26 crore employee stock options, about 2% of its outstanding share capital on a fully diluted basis. With a closing share price of Rs 208, the value of these ESOPs would be around Rs 3,800 crore.

Additionally, just weeks prior, Zomato disclosed that it was in advanced discussions with Paytm regarding acquiring the latter's events and ticketing business.