SoftBank arm SVF India pares 2.17% stake in One 97 Communications

SoftBank arm SVF India Holdings has trimmed its holding in One 97 Communications by 2.17 per cent through the sale of 13.7 million shares in the open market over the past almost one month, according to a statutory filing on Thursday.

With this, SoftBank affiliate SVF India Holdings (Cayman) has now a 2.83 per cent stake in the fintech company.

"SVF India Holdings (Cayman) Ltd has disposed of an aggregate of 13,784,787 equity shares of One 97 Communications Ltd in a series of disposals undertaken between January 23, 2024, and February 26, 2024, with the disposal on February 26, 2024, beaching the 2 per cent threshold specified in...SEBI Takeover Regulation," One 97 Communications, which own the digital payment app Paytm, said in a BSE filing.

It mentioned "open market" as a mode of sale.

Japan's SoftBank has been paring its holding in the company over the past quarters.

Notably, the latest sale comes at a time when One 97 Communications' associate entity Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) is under the regulator's lens.

Last month, in a regulatory action, the RBI barred PPBL from accepting fresh deposits or top-ups in customer accounts, wallets, FASTags and other instruments after February 29 - a deadline that was later extended to March 15.

On Monday, Vijay Shekhar Sharma stepped down as part-time non-executive Chairman of Paytm Payments Bank Limited and the board of the bank was been reconstituted. PPBL will commence the process of appointing a new Chairman.