Data analytics firm Tredence announces second Esop buyback worth $30 million

Data analytics company Tredence on Thursday announced its second employee stock ownership plan (Esop) buyback programme worth $30 million (Rs 240 crore).

The share repurchase comes two months after it closed a $175 million funding round.

The buyback will include over 270 employees globally, it said in a statement.


Eligible employees will participate in the repurchase and liquidate 40% of their vested Esop units, it added.

“At 5x the book price of each unit, this program provides liquidity options and will be a wealth-creation opportunity for the organization’s leading employees,” the company said.

Late December, Tredence said Boston-based private equity firm Advent International had invested $175 million in the company. The deal valued the San Jose-based firm at about $500 million, founder and chief executive Shub Bhowmick had told ET at the time.

“We are excited about Tredence's next stage of growth. Our employees are the force behind our success, and we are delighted to recognize their outstanding efforts… This is just one way we demonstrate our commitment to our employees and our shared vision for the future," said chief financial officer Pratap Daruka.

Tredence last announced a $3.5 million ESOP buyback in March 2021, on the back of its Series A funding round of $30 million from Chicago Pacific Founders.

It was founded in 2013 by Bhowmick, Sumit Mehra and Shashank Dubey to provide actionable insights to clients, with data visualisation, data management, advanced analytics, Big Data and machine learning capabilities.

It currently employs 2,000 people, with 80% of the workforce in India.

The company said it plans to expand its workforce to 3,000 people by the end of this year.

Nearly 700 of the new employees will be hired in India.

Additionally, the expansion will create jobs in North America, Canada and the UK with a near-shore delivery centre in Latin America also in the works.

Over 80% of Tredence's revenue comes from North America.

Esops buybacks are viewed as effective tools in retaining employees as well as hiring top talent in a competitive market.

In November, ET was the first to report that Walmart-owned Flipkart was planning a $700-million Esop buyback, in what would be the largest share repurchase in the Indian startup ecosystem.

The ecommerce firm confirmed the development in an internal memo a month later.

Other venture backed startups that have announced buybacks in the recent past include on-demand work fulfilment platform Awign.