Paytm Shares Jump 5% On Zomato Deal, FDI Nod For Investment In Paytm Payments Services

Shares of Paytm jumped more than 5% in the early hours of trading today (August 29) to INR 565 apiece on the BSE, a day after the troubled fintech major sold its entertainment ticketing business to foodtech major Zomato and also received approval from the Centre to invest in its payments arm Paytm Payment Services Limited (PPSL). 

However, the stock shed some of the gains later in the day and by 11:48 AM, it was trading 0.7% higher at 541.75 apiece.

The surge in the stock’s price came after the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led company sold its events and movies ticketing business to Zomato.

In an exchange filing, Paytm said that the transfer of the events and movies ticketing business to its wholly owned subsidiaries Wasteland Entertainment Private Limited (WEPL) and Orbgen Technologies Private Limited (OTPL), respectively, along with subscription by Zomato in the share capital of both subsidiaries, was completed on August 27.

WEPL and OTPL operate the Insider and TicketNow platforms, respectively.

In a separate filing, Paytm also said that it has secured the approval from the Centre, the finance ministry, and the department of financial services to invest in PPSL. 

The company’s confirmation came more than a month after it was reported that it had received government’s approval to invest INR 50 Cr in its subsidiary.

Paytm incorporated Paytm Payment Services to secure a PA licence. While the company initially tried to get the PA licence in 2020, the RBI directed it to resubmit the application to ensure compliance with the FDI rules. Now, Paytm will re-apply for the PA licence.

The Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led company saw its consolidated net loss widen 134% year-on-year to INR 840.1 Cr in the June quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) as compared to INR 358.4 Cr in the year ago-period.

Revenue from operations declined 36% in Q1 FY25 to INR 1,502 Cr from INR 2,342 Cr in the corresponding quarter last year.

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