Chobani employees were treated to a sweet new perk on Tuesday: an ownership stake in the company.
A share in the yogurt maker has the potential to make some of the 2,000 full-time employees millionaires, reported the New York Times. Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya told employees that they would receive shares worth up to 10% of the company, giving them a chance to cash out handsomely when the company goes public or is sold.
Each employee was given a number of shares based on his or her tenure. Shares of which came directly from Ulukaya’s own holdings since he owns the lion’s share of the company. The longer a worker has been there, the bigger the stake.
Ulukaya wants employees to share in the value that they’ve helped create, which is said to be in the several billion dollar range. One estimate from two years ago when TPG Capital loaned the company $750 million estimated Chobani’s value at $3 billion to $5 billion. At the low end, the average employee pay out would be $150,000. The longest tenured employees could hold closer to $1 million worth of shares.