Chobani founder gifts employees shares ‘worth at least $300m’

The founder of US yogurt manufacturer Chobani has gifted more than 2,000 of its employees a stake amounting to 10% of the company.

The initiative, which will take effect when the company is publicly listed or sold, will take into account each individual employees’ length of service. For some, it could mean a windfall running into the millions of dollars – and, even according to conservative estimates of the company’s value, could result in an average payout of $150,000 each.

Chobani already donates 10% of its annual profits to charity and its founder, Hamdi Ulukaya, previously donated $700 million of his personal fortune to Syrian refugees.

Revealing the scheme to employees at Chobani’s headquarters in New Berlin, New York, Ulukaya said: “Without every single one of you, this could not have been done.

“We used to [just] work together, now we are partners.”

“You know it’s been my dream,” Ulukaya added, when asked about his motivation for giving his staff a share in their company – a sentiment he shared on Twitter.

“I would like to give back to them and say ‘you and this community and this country have been so great to us, and I would like to return that favour back to you,’” he told NBC News.

Chobani has been seeking a strategic investor for several months, with speculation suggesting that PepsiCo, Coca-Cola or TPG – the private equity firm that bailed Chobani out to the tune of $750m after it built a $100m production facility in Idaho – could be interested in acquiring a stake.

Chobani extended the Idaho factory earlier this year.