NEW DELHI: State-run petroleum major Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) announced on Saturday that it would be offering stock options to its employees at one-third of the market price.
According to the exchange filing, its board of directors had on Friday approved the proposed “Employee Stock Purchase Scheme (ESPS) to the specified employees”.
This will be implemented through a trust mechanism, and while BPCL did not give details on the process, reports say that the trust may hold around 9-9.5 per cent of BPCL’s paid-up capital.
Of this, 2 per cent is likely to be offered to employees at one-third the price of BPCL scrip in the preceding six months. This will also not result in any change in the government’s shareholding in the company.
“The Trust formed for the purpose shall purchase the aforesaid shares from the ‘BPCL Trust for Investment in Shares’ by way of secondary acquisition through the stock exchanges as per the SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefits) Regulations, 2014 and other applicable laws,” the company said.
Reports say that the number of shares offered will depend on the grade of the employee and that there would be a one-year lock-in period for the shares that employees buy under the scheme.
The government has already announced that it plans to sell all of its 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL to a strategic investor, and has also invited Expressions of Interest (EoI) from bidders before September 30, 2020.