Swiggy shares on Wednesday made their debut at a premium of 7.69% to Rs 420 per share over its IPO price of Rs 390 on NSE. The listing is set to unlock employee stock option plans (ESOPs) worth Rs 9,000 crore, turn 500 employees crorepatis, and create wealth for 5,000 employees overall, the Economic Times reported, citing sources. Swiggy's ESOP payout will be one of the highest in India's startup sector, comparable to Flipkart's payout of Rs 1.4-Rs 1.5 billion.

The food delivery and quick commerce company also secured an exemption on the compulsory one-year lock-in period from SEBI, allowing its employees to sell shares 30 days after the IPO.

According to the ET report, the company's founders and top management were granted ESOPs worth Rs 2,600 crore in the recent stock ownership plan. At the stock price of Rs 390 per share, co-founder and Group CEO Sriharsha Majety has been granted ESOPs worth Rs 1,894.11 crore, Instamart CEO Amitesh Jha has been granted ESOPs worth Rs 126.41 crore, Food Marketplace CEO Rohit Kapoor Rs 92.63 crore, co-founder and head of innovation Nandan Reddy Rs 81.73 crore and co-founder and chief growth offer Phani Kishan Rs 81.77 crore, the Economic Times reported.

Swiggy said on Wednesday that it expects "very solid" growth in the next three to five years and plans to expand its store network and geographical footprint for Instamart's business.

Before this, Flipkart executed a similar initiative, distributing a staggering 1.4-1.5 billion shares to its current and former employees, marking one of the largest wealth generation events in the Indian startup landscape.

Meanwhile, its archrival, Zomato, which went public in July 2021 with its Rs 9,375 crore IPO, distributed 11,997,768 shares under its ESOP schemes last month.

Furthermore, many news reports noted that at the time of Paytm’s IPO in November 2021, around 350 employees, both current and former, became crorepatis through ESOPs.

Food delivery giant Swiggy's $1.3 billion share sale was subscribed more than three times last week, with shares priced at the upper band at Rs ₹390 apiece. It marked India’s second-largest listing this year, trailing only Hyundai Motor India's record-breaking $3.3 billion IPO.

The company said it has doubled the categories for quick commerce in the past year.

"We are expecting very solid growth for the next 3-5 years. We are expanding our geographical footprint, stores network for Instamart business," Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety said post the listing ceremony.

The Rs 11,327-crore Swiggy IPO, with a price band of Rs 371-Rs 390 per share, was subscribed 3.59 times. The initial share sale had new offering shares aggregating to Rs 4,499 crore, along with an offer-for-sale of Rs 6,828 crore.