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Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa Leads ₹419 Crore ESOP Exercise at Eternal

• ByStartupStory     |    August 11, 2025

More than 140 executives at Eternal the parent company of Zomato and Blinkit exercised employee stock options (ESOPs) worth ₹419 crore on July 29 and 30, according to stock exchange filings. The bulk of this transaction was led by Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa, who alone converted options for seven million shares worth ₹214.51 crore.

Alongside Dhindsa, 31 other top executives exercised shares worth over ₹1 crore each, including Rishi Arora (CEO, Hyperpure), Rakesh Ranjan (former food delivery CEO), Aditya Mangla (current food delivery CEO), and Kunal Swarup (head of corporate development). Collectively, these leaders accounted for ₹378.50 crore, or 90% of the two-day total.

Nearly half of the top participants were from Blinkit, with the remainder spread across Eternal, Zomato, Hyperpure, and going-out business District.

Stock option exercise explained

Exercising stock options allows executives to buy shares at a pre-agreed strike price, typically lower than the market rate. Once exercised, shares can be held or sold at market value. Eternal’s stock has been trading at its highest levels in seven months, closing at ₹300.80 on Friday, valuing the company at ₹2.9 lakh crore ($33 billion).

Industry experts note that exercising vested stock options during a share price upswing can be both a strategic wealth-creation move and a show of confidence in the company’s future. However, it also triggers income tax liability at the time of conversion.

Blinkit’s rapid growth

The ESOP exercise comes amid Blinkit’s aggressive expansion in India’s quick commerce market. For the quarter ended June 30, Blinkit’s gross order value (GOV) surged 140% year-on-year to ₹11,821 crore surpassing Zomato’s GOV for the first time. The company added 243 dark stores during April–June, bringing its total to 1,544, and plans to reach 2,000 by December.

Despite a 90% drop in Eternal’s net profit to ₹25 crore during the quarter attributed to rapid expansion and competitive intensity analysts remain bullish. Goldman Sachs expects Blinkit to gain further market share in the coming quarters.

Eternal, which went public in July 2021, has a history of creating significant wealth for employees, echoing trends seen in India’s internet economy with companies like Flipkart leading billion-dollar ESOP buybacks in recent years.

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