Antfin sells 3.6% in Paytm; Vishnu Prakash IPO subscribed nearly 10x

Analysts said the selling pressure on the stock could ease over the next few days. Investors are also looking for cues from RIL's annual general meeting (AGM) on Monday

Vishnu Prakash IPO subscribed nearly 10x

The IPO of Vishnu Prakash R Punglia, a company involved in water supply projects, was subscribed 10.6 times on Friday, the penultimate day of the issue. The institutional investor portion was subscribed 35 per cent, the wealthy investor portion 19.4 times, the retail investor portion 12.8 times, and the employee portion 5.7 times. The price band for the IPO is Rs 94-99 per share. The company is looking to issue Rs 309 crore in fresh capital through the IPO. At the top end, Vishnu Prakash will be valued at Rs 1,234 crore. In FY23, the company reported a net profit of Rs 90 crore on revenues of Rs 1,168 crore. As of July 15, 2023, Vishnu Prakash’s order book stood at Rs 3,800 crore. The company allotted shares worth ~91.7 crore to anchor investors this week. The IPO closes on Monday.

Goldman cuts Asia stocks targets, warns of China spillover risks
 

A spillover of China’s property market stress to  the rest of Asia will slow the region’s earnings and returns, Goldman Sachs strategists wrote in a note, slashing price targets for the MSCI Asia Pacific ex Japan Index. “We lower our 2023 regional earnings growth forecast” from 0 to -2 per cent taking into account revised China estimates due to property risks as well as the nation’s linkages to Asia, strategists including Timothy Moe wrote. “This includes reducing earnings in Australia, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.”

Antfin sells 3.6% in Paytm

Antfin on Friday sold 3.6 per cent stake in digital payments firm Paytm through block deals. The affiliate company of the Chinese conglomerate Alibaba group sold around 22.75 million shares at Rs 895.2 apiece to mop up Rs 2,037 crore.  Shares of Paytm last closed at Rs 899.3. Societe Generale bought shares worth Rs 536 crore, Morgan Stanley bought shares worth Rs 357.7 and Citigroup bought shares worth Rs 253.9 crore, data provided by stock exchanges showed.

Among domestic funds ICICI Prudential Life, Motilal Oswal Fund and Nippon India Mutual Fund also bought shares. During the quarter ended June 2023, Antfin held a 23.79 per cent stake in Paytm. Earlier this month, the company announced its founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma has entered into an agreement to acquire 10.3% through an off-market transfer from Antfin. The transaction, however, will not involve any cash component and will only involve transfer of voting rights to Sharma and allow Antfin to retain the economic value of the 10.3 per cent stake.