Antfin to Sell 4% Paytm Stake for Rs 20.65 Bn
16 May 2025 CW Team
China’s Alibaba Group is set to pare down its stake in One 97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, through an open market sale scheduled for Tuesday.
According to sources, Antfin Netherlands Holding BV—an affiliate of Alibaba-backed Ant Group—will offload 26 million shares, representing roughly 4 per cent equity in the Indian fintech firm.
The floor price for the sale is pegged at Rs 809.75 per share, reflecting a 6.5 per cent discount to Monday’s closing price of Rs 866.35 on the BSE. At this minimum price, the sale is expected to generate around Rs 20.65 billion for the Chinese investor.
Antfin has gradually reduced its shareholding in Paytm over recent years. As of March 2025, it held a 9.85 per cent stake. In August 2023, it sold nearly 3.6 per cent for Rs 20.37 billion.
Investment banks Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are managing the current transaction.
Despite the impending sale, shares of Paytm gained 4 per cent on Monday, buoyed by broader bullish sentiment in Indian equity markets.
The stake sale comes just days after Paytm reported a loss of Rs 5.4 billion for the March 2025 quarter, largely due to a one-time expense of Rs 4.92 billion linked to employee stock options forfeited by Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma.
However, Sharma remains optimistic, stating in a post-earnings call that the company is on the cusp of achieving profit after tax. “We are very close to PAT profitability and are confident of a profitable quarter ahead if trends hold,” he said.
The company expects to post a profit starting from the first quarter of the current financial year. substantial inflows every three to five years, would also benefit from flood mitigation through this extended linkage.