Mohalla Tech, the parent company of the vernacular social media platform ShareChat and the short video app Moj, has introduced additional employee stock options (ESOPs) as part of its ongoing ESOP program.
The ShareChat board has approved a special resolution to add 583,800 new stock options to the existing plan, increasing the total ESOP pool to 1,430,100 options, according to its regulatory filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).
Notably, each 100 stock options will be converted into one equity share at a future date, as specified in the agreement.
The increase in the ESOP pool is designed to promote employee ownership and help attract, retain, and motivate talent, according to the filing.
Based on Fintrackr's estimates, the newly added ESOPs are valued at ₹2,283 crore ($271 million), while the total value of the ESOP pool stands at ₹5,592 crore ($665 million).
According to Fintrackr’s estimates, the newly introduced ESOPs are valued at $108 million, with the total ESOP pool worth $265 million. These valuations are based on the company’s $2 billion valuation.
As per startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, ShareChat has raised around $1.2 billion from investors such as Twitter (now X), Alkeon Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, and Tencent, among others.
The company raised over a billion dollars without the revenue to show for it, even at FY23. This has drastically affected the company's valuation because of its acquisition problems: the last bridge round took it down below the two-billion marks from five it had last raised in June last year.
Nevertheless, ShareChat recorded a 30% year-on-year growth, reaching ₹718 crore in FY24. With a significant reduction in expenses, the adjusted EBITDA loss for the Tencent-backed firm stood at ₹793 crore during the same period.
