Digital payments firm Paytm is seeing strong demand for its initial public offering (IPO) from sovereign wealth funds and foreign institutional investors who are valuing the Noida-headquartered company at $20-$22 billion, MoneyControl reported. The company had filed draft papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for its IPO in July and is looking to raise Rs 16,600 crore ($2.2 billion). Paytm is expected to get the market regulator's approval this week and is looking to launch the IPO before Diwali, the report said citing sources. The company has received an offer from a sovereign wealth fund to buy over $500 million of shares in the IPO, it said. Paytm, which counts Ant Group and SoftBank among its backers, narrowed its operating loss to Rs 1,655 crore in the financial year ending March 2021 from Rs 2,468 crore a year ago. Also Read: Blue-collar workforce hiring platform Smartstaff raises $4.3 mn
As per the company's draft red herring prospectus, it is looking to raise Rs 8,300 crore through issuance of fresh equity shares and another Rs 8,300 crore through offer-for-sale. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the company's founder, managing director and chief executive officer, and Alibaba Group firms are among those investors who will dilute some of their stake in the proposed offer-for-sale. Sharma will be involved in the management and affairs of the company after the listing, but his role will be limited to his professional capacity as MD and CEO. The company's board will have the power to take important decisions, including raising debt, creation and operation of subsidiaries, approval of business plan, inter-company financial transactions above a certain monetary threshold, and appointment and removal of the key management team.
Also Read: Paytm's board to take critical decisions about co, not Vijay Shekhar Sharma