Zomato parent Eternal grants Rs 211 Cr worth ESOPs to employees

Eternal Ltd., the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit, has allotted 64.13 lakh stock options to employees under its employee stock option plans (ESOPs). The Nomination and Remuneration Committee approved the allocation via a circular resolution on October 1.

The stock options were issued under Foodie Bay ESOP 2014, Zomato ESOP 2021, and Zomato ESOP 2024. The largest allocation came from ESOP 2021 with 41.2 lakh options, followed by 22.9 lakh under ESOP 2024. Only 72 options were allotted under ESOP 2014. Each option has an exercise price of Rs 1 per share.

At Eternal’s closing price of Rs 329.45 on October 1, the total grant is valued at Rs 211.28 crore ($23.8 million). The options are convertible into an equal number of fully paid-up equity shares with a face value of Rs 1 each. Options under ESOP 2014 and 2021 can be exercised within 10 years of vesting or 12 years from listing, whichever is later, while ESOP 2024 options are exercisable within 10 years of vesting.

With this allotment, Eternal has distributed approximately 5.59 crore stock options across its ESOP schemes in 2025 alone. As of FY25, the company had 6,903 permanent employees.

The move comes amid a 19% rally in Eternal’s shares since the start of 2025, despite a sharp decline in profits. The company’s consolidated net profit dropped over 90% to Rs 25 crore in the April-June quarter, down from Rs 253 crore a year earlier, while operating revenue jumped more than 70% to Rs 7,167 crore from Rs 4,206 crore.

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