Equity management firm Qapita acquires Pune-based ESOP Direct

Singapore and India-based equity management firm Qapita has completed the acquisition of Pune-based tax and financial services-based company ESOP Direct in a full cash transaction.  Qapita is backed by venture capital investors and financial institutions like Vulcan Capital, East Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, Endiya Partners, Citibank, NYCA Capital and leading angel investors from India and Southeast Asia.

The combined entity will manage ESOPs worth over $12 billion with around 13,000 employee owners on ESOP Direct’s platform, the company said in a statement. Qapita will serve over 1,200 companies across India and southeast Asia and double its employee count to 200 after the acquisition.

Qapita aims to cement its presence in start-up hubs across India– Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Pune and Chennai besides its presence in Singapore and Jakarta. Qapita expects the value of private securities in the region to exceed $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion with the presence of 200-250 unicorns within the next few years. 

Commenting on the acquisition, Qapita CEO and co-founder Ravi Ravulaparthi said, “The incredible team at ESOP Direct pioneered stock compensation serving leading companies in this region. This acquisition is an important step to executing our vision of creating one unified platform for all equity matters, in our bid to build rails for the private markets.”

Co-founder and managing director of ESOP Direct Harshu Ghate said, “This step is a logical progression of our current business model and in line with the global trends in this domain. Our deep domain expertise and thought leadership will now be leveraged beyond the Indian market. We will continue with our endeavour to structure pathbreaking solutions to ensure success of Employee Share Plans of our clients ”