CarTrade Expands ESOP Pool With Additional 3.04 Lakh Stock Options

Auto marketplace CarTrade’s board has approved the allotment of 3.04 Lakh shares under its various employee stock option plan (ESOP) schemes.

“… The Board of Directors of the Company… has approved the allotment of 3,04,268 equity shares of face value of INR 10 each to eligible employees pursuant to exercise of vested options under ESOP 2011, ESOP 2014 and ESOP 2015,” said the company in a filing with the BSE.

With this, the auto marketplace’s paid-up share capital has now increased to INR 47.19 Cr from INR 46.8 Cr previously. While the Mumbai-based startup allotted 2.8 Lakh shares under the ESOP 2011 scheme, it earmarked 20,000 shares under the 2014 scheme. It also set aside an additional 3,500 shares for employees under the ESOP 2015 initiative. 

“All equity shares issued of the Company allotted pursuant to exercise of stock options shall rank pari-passu with the existing equity shares of the company,” added CarTrade.

The marketplace has set the exercise price per share for stock options under ESOP 2015 at INR 472, a premium of INR 462. On the other hand, exercise price per share for options under ESOP 2011 and 2014 schemes stands at INR 21 and INR 34 respectively. 

The fresh allotment comes a month after the company set aside an additional 35,000 equity shares under ESOP 2011 and ESOP 2014 schemes. 

For the uninitiated, stock options are a form of incentive under which employees are offered company stocks. These employees have the option of encashing these stocks after a specific period at a predetermined value. 

Stock options help companies retain talent, boost productivity and attract new talent to the firm. 

Founded in 2009 by ex-Mahindra executive Vinay Sanghi and former eBay India head Rajan Mehra, CarTrade operates an auto marketplace that sells products across all vehicle types and value-added services. 

The listed startup clocked a net loss of INR 23.5 Cr in Q3 FY24, largely on account of the discontinuation of the auto sales division of OLX) as against INR 14.04 Cr profit posted in Q3 FY23. 

Meanwhile, the company’s operating revenue jumped 42% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 138.6 Cr in the quarter ended December 2023.

Amid the ongoing funding winter and churn at startups, a slew of budding companies have rolled out ESOP schemes to woo employees to their fold. 

Earlier this month, sleep solutions startup The Sleep Company rolled out the second tranche of ESOP buyback for its employees worth INR 2.4 Cr. Prior to this, audio tech platform Pocket FM also executed its first ESOP buyback programme worth $8.3 Mn.

In March, competitor Spinny also expanded its ESOPs pool by granting an additional 2.37 Cr options to its employees.