IPO-bound Ather to grant Esops to 1,300 employees

BENGALURU: Ather Energy is set to grant employee stock options (Esops) to over 1,300 employees, worth about Rs 7 crore. The electric scooter manufacturer is preparing for its IPO, which is anticipated in the first quarter of FY26, sources said.

An internal announcement of this occurred in a company town hall earlier this month. Its founder and CEO, Tarun Mehta, told employees that the Esop programme is aimed at recognising contributions across the organisation rather than being limited to a select group.

"Six to 7% of the 1,300 employees are those in senior leadership roles," one of the employees told TOI. The allocation structure includes a standard grant along with additional units based on tenure, as per one of the attendees of the town hall. A company spokesperson did not respond to TOI's queries on the matter.

Esops have emerged as a significant retention strategy among Indian startups allowing employees to acquire company shares at a predetermined price and realise potential gains post-listing. Ather's initiative follows similar moves by other high-growth startup entrants to Dalal Street that aim to align employee incentives with business growth, the most recent being Swiggy.

As of its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filing in Sept 2024, Ather reported 1,426 full-time employees, with 731 in research and development, accounting for approximately 46% of its workforce. The company recently expanded its R&D operations with the launch of 'The Juggernaut,' a product testing and validation centre in Bengaluru.

Ather's IPO plan includes a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 3,100 crore and an offer-for-sale of 2.2 crore shares by promoters and investors, as per the DRHP.


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