SoftBank entity sells 2% stake worth Rs 950 crore in Paytm parent

Japanese investor SoftBank has offloaded two per cent of its stake in One 97 Communications, the parent company of fintech major Paytm, over the past one month.

SVF India Holdings (Cayman) Ltd, a SoftBank entity, has been reducing its stake in the company by selling its shares in open markets over the past few months. After selling a 2 per cent stake in the fintech company, SoftBank's total shareholding has come down to 5.06 per cent. The company held a 13.24 per cent stake in February 2023.

The current 2 per cent stake sale has yielded SoftBank close to Rs 950 crore.

"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 19 December 2023 and 20 January 2024, with the disposal on 20 January 2024 breaching the 2 per cent threshold specified in Regulation 29(2) of the Sebi Takeover Regulations," the company said in an exchange filing on Tuesday.

As of December 2023, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) own a 63.72 per cent stake in Paytm, up from 60.92 per cent in the second quarter of financial year 2024 (Q2FY24).

Domestic investors have seen their stake increase during the same time from 4.06 per cent in Q2FY24 to 6.06 per cent in Q3FY24.

The Noida-based company saw its net loss narrow down to Rs 221.7 crore on a consolidated basis in the third quarter of financial year 2024 (Q3FY24) from a loss of Rs 392 crore in the third quarter of FY23.

On a sequential basis, the company trimmed its loss from Rs 291.7 crore in Q2 FY24.

Its revenue from operations rose 38.2 per cent to Rs 2,859.5 crore year-on-year. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, revenue increased 13 per cent from Rs 2,518.6 crore in Q2.

Paytm earned Rs 1,730 crore in revenue from its payment service business in Q3FY24, up 13.5 per cent from Rs 1,524 crore in Q2FY24 on the back of an increase in the gross merchandise value (GMV) and a rise in subscription revenues. On a Y-o-Y basis, revenue from payment services increased 45 per cent from Rs 1,197 crore in Q3FY23. The company’s payments profitability rose 63 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 748 crore.