IPO-bound MobiKwik, a 11-year old digital start-up, said on Tuesday that its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) is expected to deliver bountiful rewards for its employees — through the employee stock option plans (ESOPs) — who reposed trust on the company’s vision during its ongoing journey.

Several of the employees are expected to cash-in on the IPO via exercise of options with the fintech reserving 4.5 million equity shares or 7 per cent of its equity for its ESOPs in the impending public issue.

MobiKwik, which had filed its draft prospectus with SEBI in July 2021, is looking to raise ₹1,900 crore ($255 million) in the IPO scheduled later this year. Of this, fresh issue will be for ₹1,500 crore and remaining ₹400 crore will be an offer for sale by existing shareholders.

Even going by the latest series G funding round valuation of $720 million, 7 employees are worth more than ₹10 crore and 31 are worth more than ₹1 crore each, Mobikwik said.

118 millionaires

More importantly, 118 current employees (almost 1/4th of the overall employee base) have become rupee millionaires, highlighting the company’s philosophy of ensuring equitable participation as opposed to just focusing on the leadership team. The cumulative wealth creation for the employees currently stands at ₹3 billion.

In the series G round, the company raised $20 million from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) at a per-share value of ₹895.80 per share. This implies a 600 per cent gain on an average for the employees on their ESOPs (even at the last round price) . This 6-fold increase in the ESOPs’ value has created generational wealth for the employees.

Commenting on the announcement, Upasana Taku, Chairperson, Co-founder & COO, MobiKwik said in a statement, “Over the last decade, MobiKwik has grown on the strength of its employees to become a leading fintech player in India. As we cement our presence and leadership further, we wanted to acknowledge and reward our employees for their efforts. Together, we march in our pursuit of building the most inclusive digital payments and credit experience for Bharat while generating value for all.” Mobikwik counts Sequoia Capital India, American Express, Bajaj Finance, Cisco and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority among its investors.

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