Zomato ESOP plan receives shareholders' nod, 25% voted against it

Online food delivery platform Zomato has received shareholders' nod to establish a new employee stock option pool (ESOP) of 18.2 crore shares, with 75 per cent of investors voting in favour and 25 per cent against it, the company said in an exchange filing.

At a current market price of roughly Rs 208 apiece, the 18.26 crore shares are worth around Rs 3,800 crore.

It was mainly Zomato's institutional shareholders who voted against the resolution, with approximately 32 per cent of opposing votes cast. Although information on individual votes is not disclosed, Zomato's institutional supporters include Fidelity Investments, Temasek, CPPIB, and Vanguard.

In its fourth quarter (Q4) earnings and shareholders' letter, Chief Financial Officer Akshant Goyal had said a new ESOP pool of 2 per cent of its equity will be proposed.
"ESOPs are important to help build a culture of long-term thinking and innovation and create a 'founder mindset' amongst senior employees, which ultimately drives the right outcomes for long-term shareholder value creation," he had said.

Last month, Zomato invested Rs 300 crore in its quick commerce arm, Blinkit, as this segment was projected to surpass its core food delivery business.

The board of the company has approved the investment of Rs 300 crore in Blinkit Commerce, as per filings with the Registrar of Companies accessed via TheKredible.

Additionally, Zomato will also invest Rs 100 crore in Zomato Entertainment, its events arm, which specialises in curating and selling tickets for concerts, parties, and festivals.