Paytm allots 1.89 lakh shares under Esop plan to employees

One 97 Communications, which operates fintech firm Paytm, has allotted 1,88,879 equity shares to employees following the exercise of stock options under its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (Esop) 2019 scheme, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The allotment, approved by the company’s nomination and remuneration committee on January 3, involves equity shares with a face value of Rs 1 each, issued at an exercise price of Rs 9 per share.

The shares will rank ‘pari passu’, meaning they will have the same rights, including voting rights and dividends as existing equity shares, and are not subject to any lock-in period.


Following the allotment, Paytm’s issued, subscribed and paid-up equity share capital has increased to Rs 63.97 crore from Rs 63.95 crore, taking the total number of outstanding equity shares to 63.97 crore.

In a separate disclosure, the company said its board approved a fresh grant of 1,23,908 stock options to eligible employees under the same Esop scheme. Based on Paytm’s last closing price of Rs 1,340.7, the newly granted options are valued at about Rs 16.6 crore.

Employee stock option exercises result in marginal dilution for existing shareholders but are commonly utilised by startups and new-age companies to retain and incentivise senior management and employees.

Employee stock options at Paytm have been under regulatory scrutiny over the past year. In May 2025, the company, its founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma and his brother Ajay Shekhar Sharma settled a case with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) over alleged disclosure lapses related to Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s promoter status at the time of the company’s initial public offering.

As part of the settlement, the Sharma brothers forfeited 21 million Esops and agreed to a three-year ban on receiving new stock options from listed companies. The settlement involved a payment of about Rs 2.79 crore.

For the September quarter of the current fiscal, Paytm reported a sharp year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 21 crore, compared to around Rs 928 crore a year earlier, while revenue from operations rose 24% to Rs 2,061 crore