Flipkart employees in for richer times as co sells ESOP trust

In what can be considered a first by an Indian ecommerce company, Flipkart has sold a marginal stake worth Rs 180-240 crore in its employee trust fund to high net worth individuals in the past few weeks.

According to people aware of the transaction, the move was aimed at talent retention by the eight-year-old firm.

Such a move gives employees holding stock options an avenue to monetise them, something they normally wouldn't be able to do in absence of a listing.

"At Flipkart, we believe the reason for our remarkable growth has been our people who have demonstrated immense ownership and have consistently gone way beyond the call of duty," a company spokesperson said in an email to ET.


Flipkart, India's largest ecommerce company, has raised more than $3.4 billion from global investors such as New York-based Tiger Global and Steadview Capital and was valued at $15 billion in the last round of funding.


Employee stock options, or esops, can range from 30 per cent to as much as 70 per cent of compensation. Listed and unlisted companies in India have employee trusts that are used as a way of rewarding staff.

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