SoftBank Discards Additional 2% Stake in Paytm

SoftBank Group Corp., a Japanese investment holding firm, has sold another 2% of its stake in Paytm, an Indian financial technology company. The SoftBank unit, SVF India Holdings, offloaded an additional stake in Paytm's parent company, One 97 Communications.

SoftBank's Remaining and Amount of Sold Stake

Mint reported that SoftBank has been getting rid of its share in the digital payment firm over the last few quarters. As indicated in its latest exchange filing, SVF India Holdings divested 12,706,807 equity shares between Dec. 19, 2023, and Jan. 20 of this year. The selling was done via open market deals, and with these divestments, the remaining stake it holds now stands at just 5.01%.

Moreover, as of the end of the third quarter of the recent fiscal year, foreign corporate investors held a combined 63.7% stake in Paytm, an increase from the second quarter's 60.09%. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Paytm's founder and chief executive officer, still holds a 19% stake in the company.

"SVF India Holdings (Cayman) Limited has disposed of an aggregate of 12,706,807 equity shares of One97 Communications Ltd in a series of disposals undertaken between Dec. 19, 2023 and Jan. 20, 2024, with the disposal on Jan. 20, 2024, breaching the 2% threshold specified in Regulations 29(2) of the Sebi Takeover regulations," SoftBank said in its latest exchange filing this week.

Paytm's Series of Selldowns

Many companies and investors have been selling off their stakes in Paytm. Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway and Jack Ma's Alibaba Group have also recently sold or reduced their shares.

Ant Financial also cut its stake in the fintech firm. Meanwhile, according to News18, SoftBank's move to sell its stake coincided with a 20% surge in Paytm share prices in the past month.

Photo by: Paytm Website