These Flipsters have turned millionaires even as Sachin Bansal, Binny Bansal become billionaires

The mega Walmart-Flipkart deal may have created some tough competition for their bitter rivals like Amazon and Alibaba, but nearly hundreds of current and former employees of Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart, it has come as a blessing! Why? They have become millionaires overnight! They are shareholders in the company and are now in for a treat after the US retail giant Walmart acquired 77 percent of the stake for $16 billion in the Bengaluru-based e-commerce firm. The total valuation of Flipkart is now $21 bn.
 
Recently, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal had announced 100 percent buyback of vested employee stock options (ESOPs) with reports suggesting that it could be around $150 (Rs 10,000) a share, according to a Times of India report. The biggest buyout deal of Walmart has boosted ESOPs (employee stock ownership plans) of Flipkart to a total of $2 billion. The largest e-commerce deal has also propelled Flipkart's valuation and ensured a good deal for former and current employees with stocks to get benefitted out of this mega acquisition.
 
The value of the employee stock options would be around $1 million each, said an Economic Times report, which also suggested that the US retail giant may look to buy back all such shares owned by Flipkart staff, thereby making them rich by at least a million US dollars.
 
The TOI report said that those employees who would reap the most of the benefit include Sameer Nigam, CEO, and founder of PhonePe, the payment arm of Flipkart; Amod Malviya, former chief technology officer of Flipkart; and Sujeet Kumar, former president of operations. 
 
Meanwhile, in this turnaound story, an emotional chapter is also added with the quitting of 11-year-old Indian e-commerce company's co-founder Sachin Bansal, who along with Binny Bansal founded Flipkart in 2007. Sachin Bansal, who met Binny Bansal in 2005 at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, is not related to Binny, but both had worked for Jeff Bezos led company Amazon. 
 
After selling his stake and exiting Flipkart, an emotional Sachin took to Facebook to speak his mind on cutting his links with 'Flipsters'. He said, "I'll be taking some long time off and focus on finishing a few personal projects which I haven't been able to find time for. Will catch up on gaming (and see what kids are playing these days) and brush up on my coding skills." 
 
"Sadly my work here is done and after 10 years, it's time to hand over the baton and move on from Flipkart", he adds, stating that he will be "cheering from the outside". He urged Flipkart team to continue with the momentum, Sachin said, "...But I'll be watching and cheering from the outside? Flipsters, you better continue to do a good job!" 
 
In an email message to employees, Binny Bansal said, “Over the last 11 years, Flipkart has grown to be one of the most recognised brands, and the No 1 ecommerce platform in India. None of this would have been possible without the vision and leadership of Sachin.” 
 
ET report said that former CEO Sachin Bansal's name was not mentioned on the Walmart's official statement, sparking a debate on whether the US retail brand was keen on having only one founder on board. 

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Walmart's official statement clearly stated, "Walmart will pay approximately $16 billion for an initial stake of approximately 77 percent in Flipkart, formally Flipkart Private Limited. The remainder of the business will be held by some of Flipkart's existing shareholders, including Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, Tencent Holdings Limited, Tiger Global Management LLC and Microsoft Corp."