Why Paytm Shares Are On The Rise Today

Shares of Paytm were up over 1% on Friday after it was reported that Ant Financial was likely to sell a stake in the Indian fintech firm.

What Happened: Ant Financial, the Chinese fintech giant, is getting ready to sell a 3.6% stake sale in Paytm, which equates to 2.3 crore Paytm shares, Bloomberg reported.

This sale is set to happen through a block deal with an anticipated floor price of about ₹880.10 per share. Paytm’s closing share price on the Bombay Stock Exchange was ₹904.20, showing a minimal 0.15% decline.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Paytm founder and CEO, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, would acquire a 10.3% stake in Paytm from Antfin. The stake will shift from Antfin to an overseas entity entirely owned by Sharma, called Resilient Asset Management BV.

As a result, Sharma’s share in Paytm will likely increase to 19.42%, while Antfin’s stake will decrease to 13.5%.

Other exits: The Alibaba Group recently concluded a stake sale in Paytm, amounting to about ₹1,378 crore through a block deal. Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group and owner of Antfin, had previously divested its stakes in Zomato, Bigbasket and Paytm Mall.

Other Paytm shareholders have also been reducing their positions. SoftBank, for instance, has been consistently selling shares in small increments over the past few months, usually at a profit.

Price Action: Paytm’s share price was up 1.17% at ₹915 around the start of trade on Friday.