SoftBank Again Offloads Stake In Paytm, Sells 1.37 Cr Shares

Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank offloaded over 2% stake in fintech giant Paytm via open market transactions between January 23, 2024 and February 26, 2024.

The investor informed the stock exchanges that it sold 1.37 Cr shares, or 2.17% stake, of Paytm during the aforementioned time period.

“SVF India Holdings (Cayman) Limited has disposed of an aggregate of 13,784,787 equity shares of One97 Communications Limited in a series of disposal undertaken between January 23, 2024 and February 26, 2024, with the disposal on February 26, 2024 breaching the 2% threshold specified in Regulation 29(2) of the SEBI Takeover Regulations,” the investor said in its filing with the BSE.   

Following the transaction, SoftBank’s stake in the company has declined to 2.83% from 5.01% earlier. 

This is the second stake reduction by SoftBank in Paytm this year. Last month, the investor said it sold 2% stake in the company for INR 950 Cr ($114 Mn). 

The Japanese investor has been steadily reducing its stake in Paytm. It offloaded 0.55% stake in Paytm in December 2023 and followed it by selling another 1.4% stake in January this year.

It is pertinent to note that SoftBank, which is among the major international investors in the Indian startup ecosystem, has been reducing its stake in the listed companies in its portfolio, including Zomato and Policybazaar, for almost a year. The investor also plans to sell some of its shares during the initial public offering (IPO) of its portfolio companies Ola Electric and FirstCry.

During its recently released Q3 results, SoftBank said that the fair value of its India investment portfolio stood at nearly $14 Bn as of December 2023. After pausing investments in India for about 18 months amid the ongoing funding winter, the Japanese investor is now said to be looking to restart investments.

Meanwhile, shares of Paytm are on a downward spiral after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed curbs on Paytm Payments Bank for persistent non-compliances and continued material supervisory concerns.

While the shares regained some momentum over the last few trading sessions, the stock is still trading over 45% lower from its price on January 31, when the central bank announced its action against Paytm Payments Bank.

The company’s shares were trading 3.04% lower at INR 393.80 on the BSE at 03:05 PM on Thursday (Friday 29).