Pine Labs Gears Up for ₹3,900 Crore IPO: Expands ESOP Pool Ahead of Listing

Merchant payments and lending platform Pine Labs has officially filed its Red Herring Prospectus (RHP) for a ₹3,900 crore initial public offering (IPO). The offering will consist of a fresh issue of ₹2,080 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) worth ₹1,820 crore by existing shareholders.

Significant ESOP Expansion Before IPO

In the four months leading up to the IPO filing, Pine Labs expanded its Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) by adding options worth ₹564.75 crore. A major share of this, approximately ₹243 crore, was granted to CEO Amrish Rau.

As per the RHP, the company had an ESOP pool of 6.15 crore options valued at ₹1,360 crore as of June 30, 2025. Between July 1 and November 1, an additional 2.55 crore options were granted, taking the total pool to 8.7 crore options.

Of these, 2.75 crore options were exercised and converted into equity shares at exercise prices ranging from ₹5.4 to ₹156. After accounting for forfeited and lapsed options, Pine Labs now has 5.89 crore outstanding options valued at approximately ₹1,300 crore ($148 million).

CEO Amrish Rau’s ESOP Allocation

Of the 2.55 crore new options granted recently, 1.1 crore were allotted to Amrish Rau, while the remainder went to other senior executives. Before June 2025, Rau already held 2.31 crore options; with the new grant, his total holdings rose to 3.41 crore options, collectively valued at ₹755.6 crore.

Early Investors Set for Strong Returns

As part of the OFS, early investor Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India) is expected to receive around ₹508.4 crore, translating to a nearly 40x return on its initial investment. Other shareholders participating in the sale include Madison India, Sofina Ventures, Temasek, PayPal, Mastercard, Invesco, and Lone Cascade.

Also Read: OYO’s Parent PRISM Withdraws 6,000:1 Bonus Share Proposal Amid Backlash

Financial Performance and Profitability

Pine Labs reported a 28.5% year-on-year revenue growth to ₹2,274 crore in FY25, up from ₹1,769 crore in FY24. The company’s net loss narrowed by 57% to ₹145 crore during the same period. In a key milestone, Pine Labs turned profitable in Q1 FY26, posting a net profit of ₹4.7 crore on revenue of ₹616 crore.

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