Reliance Retail Grants ₹351 Crore in ESOPs to Top Execs Ahead of IPO—What It Means for the Future

Reliance Retail, the retail arm of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), has granted employee stock option plans (ESOPs) worth ₹351 crore to 15 senior executives in the last financial year. This move comes as the company prepares for its potential initial public offering (IPO), according to a filing made to the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

The company allotted 4.417 million shares, each valued at ₹10, to these key employees at a price of ₹796.5 per share. Reliance Retail mentioned that its board will take the necessary steps to list these shares under the ESOP if the company decides to go ahead with the IPO.

While Reliance Industries has not yet announced a specific timeline for listing its retail business, analysts expect the IPO to happen within the next two years.

Who Received ESOPs?

The ESOPs were awarded to several senior executives, including:

• V Subramaniam: Director
• Damodar Mall: Chief Executive for Grocery Retail
• Akhilesh Prasad: President and Chief Executive of Fashion and Lifestyle Business
• Kaushal Nevrekar: President and Chief Business Officer of Electronics Retail
• Ashwin Khasgiwala: Group Chief Business Operations
• Vineeth Nair: Chief Executive of Fashion E-commerce Platform Ajio

Other recipients include the Chief Operating Officer for Grocery Retail and Jiomart Kamadeba Mohanty, Head of Strategy and Projects Prateek Mathur, Reliance Trends COO Vipin Tyagi, and FMCG business COO Ketan Mody.

Strategic Move Ahead of IPO

Reliance Retail did not respond to queries from the media. However, Mohit Yadav, founder of business intelligence firm AltInfo, noted that the ESOPs were granted at a significant premium of 7,865% to the share’s face value. The company’s large ESOP pool of 490 million shares, approved back in 2007, highlights its long-term strategy to incentivize and retain top talent. Yadav emphasized that this strategic move is essential as the company gears up for its potential IPO.

Company Performance and Financials

Reliance Retail is India’s largest retailer, with a significant presence in food and grocery, consumer electronics, apparel, and B2B wholesale. In the last fiscal year, the company’s revenue from operations grew by over 15% to ₹2,58,388 crore, while net profit increased by 26% to ₹8,875 crore.

Reliance Retail Ventures, a subsidiary of RIL and the holding company for Reliance Retail, infused ₹14,839 crore as debt into Reliance Retail in FY24, along with ₹4,330 crore in equity.