RateGain Expands ESOP Pool, Allots Shares Worth INR 4.5 Cr

Delhi NCR-based traveltech company RateGain has expanded its employee stock option plan (ESOP) pool by allocating 59,904 shares to the employees.

In an exchange filing on Monday (July 1), the company said it has allotted 23,880 equity shares to its employees under RateGain ESOP 2015 and 36,024 equity shares under the Stock Appreciation Rights Scheme – 2022.

“We hereby inform that the Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the Company vide its resolution dated July 01, 2024 approved the allotment to the eligible employee(s) of the Company of 23,880 Equity Shares of face value of Re. 1/- each, under RateGain Employee Stock Option Scheme – 2015 (‘ESOP 2015’) and 36,024 Equity Shares of face value of Re. 1/- each under RateGain – Stock Appreciation Rights Scheme – 2022 (‘SAR 2022’),” the filing said.

Consequent to the allotment, the paid-up share capital of RateGain will climb to INR 11.79 Cr from INR 11.78 Cr earlier.

As per the stock’s opening price on Tuesday, the newly-allotted ESOPs are worth nearly INR 4.49 Cr.

Founded in 2004 by Bhanu Chopra, RateGain is a global provider of SaaS solutions for travel and hospitality enabling them to accelerate revenue growth through acquisition, retention and wallet share expansion. The company claims it caters to more than 3,200 customers and has a presence in over 100 countries.

The development comes against the backdrop of reports that RateGain founder’s family members — Megha Chopra, its promoter, and Usha Chopra, part of its promoter group,  sold 3% of their total holding of 51.25% in March.

RateGain saw a more than two-fold jump in its net profit to INR 146.39 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 68.40 Cr in FY23.

Meanwhile, revenue from operations grew 36% year-on-year to INR 255.81 Cr during the period under review versus INR 187.72 Cr in the previous fiscal.

It is pertinent to note that several new-age tech companies are banking on ESOPs to remake their employer brand image as job seekers become increasingly reluctant to join startups amid mass layoffs within the system.

A number of Indian startups such Delhivery, Paytm, Policybazaar, ideaForge and Nykaa have leaned on ESOPs recently to woo employees back to the startup ecosystem.

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