Paytm looks to raise Rs 12,000 cr via fresh issue of shares, EGM on July 12

Digital payments startup Paytm will ask for shareholder permission to sell about $1.6 billion in new stock as part of what’s set to be India’s largest-ever initial public offering.

The company wants to sell Rs 12,000 crore ($1.61 billion) in new shares plus a potential 1% for over-allotment, the company said in a notice for an extraordinary shareholder meeting scheduled for July 12 in Delhi.

Paytm, formally called One97 Communications, is joining a global share sale frenzy with a plan to offer as much as $3 billion of shares in the IPO, Bloomberg News reported last month. Its shareholders include SoftBank Group Corp., Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Ant Group Co.

So far in 2021, about $4 billion has been raised through IPOs in the South Asian nation, the best start to the year since 2018, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Earlier this month, Paytm asked its workers to formally declare if they wanted to sell stock as part of the public offering. The declarations would be required before the company finalizes its prospectus, expected to be submitted to the regulator in early July.

Paytm will also propose removing founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s role as a “promoter” for the company, which may ease his compliance requirements and obligations. Sharma holds just under 15% equity in the company.

The startup has hired four banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. for the IPO, people with knowledge of the matter have said.