Paytm Slumps Nearly 5% On Large Block Deal Buzz

Shares of One97 Communications Limited, the parent entity of fintech major Paytm, plunged 4.6% to INR 880 a piece on the BSE in the early trade on Friday (November 24), following a likely huge block deal.

On the NSE, the shares nosedived 5%.

As per a CNBC-TV18 report, 1.6 Cr shares of Paytm worth INR 1,441 Cr exchanged hands in the block deal.

It is pertinent to note that as per NSE data, over 1.9 Cr shares were traded by 12.30 PM IST on Friday, while on BSE, the total traded volume stood at 9 Lakh.

However, the report couldn’t ascertain the buyers and sellers involved in the transaction.

By 12.30 PM IST, Paytm regained some gains and was trading at INR 896 on the BSE and INR 896.15 on the NSE.

The likely block deal comes just three months after Antfin (Netherlands) Holdings offloaded 2.27 Cr shares of Paytm or a 3.59% stake in the company on August 25. The likes of Antfin and SoftBank have been trying to lower their stakes in Paytm as well as in their other listed Indian new-age investments since last year.

It also comes at a time when the shares have been witnessing a sharp uptrend in the last few months – gained over 8% in just two months.

Paytm has also come into focus since last week, following the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) move to tighten norms for lenders disbursing unsecured loans.

In a research note, BofA said that the regulatory change was likely to impact Paytm’s personal loan business. The brokerage said that Paytm’s personal loans would likely become expensive by at least 50 basis points (bps), which the company and its NBFC partners would pass on the the consumers. 

However, the brokerage noted that the impact on Paytm’s overall business wouldn’t be significant.

On the other hand, Jefferies said that with RBI tightening the norms, banks might raise rates, while Paytm might witness earnings risk if partners tighten.

Recently, Paytm became one of nine stocks that were newly incorporated into the MSCI Global Standard Index.