PolicyBazaar parent PB Fintech grants ESOPs worth Rs 651 crore to employees

PB Fintech, the parent of PolicyBazaar and PaisaBazaar, has rolled out a fresh grant of employee stock options covering 35.11 lakh equity shares.

According to a stock exchange disclosure, the company’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee has approved the grant of 35,11,256 stock options to eligible employees with effect from December 2, 2025, under its ESOP 2024 plan. Each option is convertible into one equity share of face value Rs 2.

The options have been granted in line with SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefits and Sweat Equity) Regulations, 2021. The exercise price has been fixed at Rs 1,589.67 per share. This is calculated as a 10 percent discount to the volume weighted average market price for the last 90 trading days prior to the grant date on the stock exchange with the highest trading volume.

At Thursday’s closing price of around Rs 1,854.5 per share for PB Fintech, the latest grant of 35.11 lakh options represents an aggregate value of roughly Rs 651 crore. The company will receive the exercise price and an additional amount equivalent to the perquisite tax payable at the time employees actually exercise these options, in line with the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The scheme is being administered by the company’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee, which will determine eligibility based on criteria specified in the ESOP plan and individual grant letters. The vesting period will start from the grant date, with a minimum vesting period of four years and a maximum of eight years.

All the granted options will vest in a single tranche only after completion of four years from the grant date, subject to market conditions. A key condition is that options will vest only if the volume weighted average share price on the vesting date is at least 150% of the volume weighted average share price on the date preceding the grant.

After vesting, employees may exercise their options either fully or in part within a maximum period of two years from the respective vesting date. The exercise will require submission of an application along with payment of the exercise price, applicable taxes and other charges, if any. Since this disclosure relates only to the grant stage, figures for vested, exercised or lapsed options and the resulting share issuances are not yet applicable.

Alongside the ESOP grant, PB Fintech has reported a series of business updates across its subsidiaries. PB Pay Private Limited, a wholly owned unit of the company, has received in principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as an online payment aggregator under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.