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ESOPs must be exercised before sale. Exercising gives executives the right to buy shares at a fixed, often lower strike price, allowing potential profit when sold later
Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa acquired shares worth Rs 214.51 crore through ESOP exercise. (Representative/Shutterstock)
Shares of Eternal, Zomato’s parent company, have hit an all-time high, creating a lucrative moment for employees, especially senior executives. On July 29 and 30, over 140 top officials exercised their Employee Stock Options (ESOPs), acquiring shares valued at Rs 419 crore.
Employee stock options (ESOPs) must be ‘exercised’ before they can be sold. Exercising means an executive gains the right to buy company shares at a fixed, pre-agreed price called the strike price. This price varies for each executive but is usually lower than the current market price, allowing them to buy shares cheaply and potentially sell them later at a profit.
Simply put, if the company performs well and its share price rises after listing, ESOP holders can make significant gains by selling their shares at higher prices. Companies issue ESOPs primarily to retain key executives over the long term.
Executives Who Disclosed Their ESOP Exercise Details
After exercising ESOPs, individuals can choose to either hold onto the shares or sell them. The decision is entirely theirs.
According to The Economic Times, Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa acquired shares valued at Rs 214.51 crore, making him the largest beneficiary among those who exercised their options. The remaining 31 executives have each acquired shares valued at over Rs 1 crore.
Other notable executives, including Hyperpure CEO Rishi Arora, former Zomato food delivery CEO Rakesh Ranjan, his successor Aditya Mangala, and corporate development head Kunal Swaroop, collectively obtained shares worth Rs 378.50 crore, accounting for 90% of the total transaction. About half of the executives on this list are from Blinkit, while the rest are associated with Eternal, Zomato, Hyperpure, and District branches.
Additional transactions included Kunal Swaroop’s shares worth Rs 25.2 crore, Zomato’s logistics AVP Adish Dhakad’s Rs 24.1 crore, Blinkit’s Udit Gupta and Aneesh Srivastava’s Rs 14.8 crore and Rs 14.1 crore respectively, Rishi Arora’s Rs 9.5 crore, and Blinkit’s CTO Sajal Gupta’s Rs 6.6 crore.
Eternal Shares Overview
Eternal, one of India’s first major internet companies to go public in July 2021, initially priced its shares at Rs 76 each on BSE. Debuting at Rs 115, the stock peaked at Rs 138 on its first day before closing at Rs 125.85.
A year later, on July 29, 2022, the stock plummeted to Rs 46.80 amid widespread declines in new-age company shares. However, following its acquisition of Blinkit (formerly Grofers) in June this year, Eternal’s fortunes reversed. Blinkit quickly gained consumer trust, revitalising Zomato’s shares, which soared to Rs 302.95 on December 6, 2024, delivering substantial returns to investors. Currently, Eternal’s stock is trading above Rs 300.
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