Paytm IPO: Employees get time till Sep 22 to convert ESOPs into shares

Digital payments and financial services firm Paytm has given time till September 22 to its employees to decide on converting their stock options ahead of the company's Rs 16,600 crore-IPO planned to be launched in October, according to sources aware of the development.

Paytm's parent firm One97 Communications has sent out an email to its staff asking them whether they are interested in converting their ESOPs (Employee Stock Option Plan) into shares, the sources said.

As per the email, the last day for employees to exercise their ESOPs is September 22.

For 'Designated Persons' to sell or buy shares, the deadline is September 27, while for KMPs (Key Management Personnel) and selling shareholders, the date is September 22.

"After the declarations of the same, there will be no further change in holding. Paytm has a total paid-up capital of Rs 60,72,74,082, as of September 2021," the source said.

As per Registrar of Companies (ROC) filing, as many as 200 Paytm employees have converted their ESOPs into shares.

"Based on the paid-up capital and an expected valuation of around Rs 1.47 lakh crore, it will lead to immense wealth creation for its employees," the source said.

Paytm has reported the highest gross merchandise value of Rs 4.03 lakh crore in the payments industry.

Paytm is also facilitating loans of up to Rs 100 crore through its lending partners and will also bear the interest of these loans for six months, so that employees are able to handle their finances better and yet become proud shareholders of the company.

According to the company's draft papers (DRHP), it has disbursed 14 lakh loans in January-March 2021, almost 53 times higher than the number of loans (26,000) disbursed during the same period of the previous year.

The company's wealth offering - digital gold and Paytm Money's mutual funds and stock broking services - has built a strong holding for itself with a combined AUM of Rs 5,200 crore, as per the company's DRHP.