Simplilearn completes maiden ESOP buyback worth Rs 48.7 cr

Digital skills training platform Simplilearn on Tuesday said it has completed its maiden Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) buyback worth Rs 48.74 crore.

The company had offered active employees to liquidate up to 25 per cent of their vested ESOPs as part of this buyback, a statement said.

With this, 33 per cent of all ESOP holders are now crorepatis, it added.

''This event is the first time ESOPs have been bought back by the company. The buyback was undertaken as part of the recent investment by Blackstone earlier this year,'' it said.

The buyback was completed earlier this month. The company has over 1,600 people.

The statement said 65 per cent of the active employees with ESOPs liquidated their options as part of the buyback process. The company also rewarded all these employees with additional new ESOPs for their continued contribution to its growth.

Deriving over 60 per cent of business currently from international markets, Simplilearn is on an aggressive growth path and is further strengthening its global team.

With employee wealth creation as a key part of the people strategy, Simplilearn is hiring leaders across all levels in the Indian and US markets, the statement said.

This includes the recent addition of Deborah Quazzo to the company's board of directors and the appointment of Saurabh Arya as the Vice President- Simplilearn Enterprise, with many others joining in the next few months.

“Having launched our ESOPs plan in 2012, this was an ideal time to offer liquidity on the same. For many of our employees, this was their first opportunity in their professional lives to own or liquidate ESOPs. We are happy to be able to remunerate our employees for their contribution with the buyback,'' Simplilearn co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Krishna Kumar said.

This also provides a great chance to create wealth, given that the company also issued new, additional ESOPs for the future, Kumar added.

“Continuing on our growth path, with the Blackstone investment and renowned leaders joining us, we look forward to expanding our offerings and the corresponding employee base significantly over the next couple of months. With enterprise and university partnerships in the pipeline, in both India and globally, we foresee a significant boost in Simplilearn's business,” Kumar said.

Simplilearn's programmes span digital skills such as AI, Data, Full-stack, Cloud, and Digital Marketing and across over 30 critical digital economy roles in an enterprise, with comprehensive learning paths. These programs are co-created with universities like MIT and Caltech and industry partners like IBM, Microsoft Azure, and Facebook.

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