SoftBank to sell up to $215 mn stake in Paytm, says term sheet

SoftBank Group Corp aims to sell shares worth up to $215 million in Indian e-payments giant Paytm's parent One 97 Communications Ltd through a block deal, according to a term sheet reviewed by Reuters.

SoftBank had a 17.5% stake in the digital payments and fintech company, as of Sept. 30. The stock is being sold in a range of 555 rupees to 601.45 rupees per share, the term sheet said.

The lower end of the range is at a 7.7% discount to the company's last closing price. The final price in the sale will be set later Thursday.

The sale is the latest in a string of divestments that SoftBank has made in the past few months after its flagship Vision Fund unit booked nearly $50 billion in losses in just six months.

SoftBank and Paytm did not respond to requests for comment.

SoftBank is selling 29 million shares in the deal which is being led by Bank of America, according to the term sheet.

The news comes a day after the lock-in period for investors in Paytm's November 2021 initial public offering closed. Shares of the company settled 4% lower on Wednesday at 601.30 rupees, after touching a five-month low.

SoftBank raised $2.4 billion selling shares in T-Mobile US earlier this year.

Vision Fund sold a range of assets in the April-June quarter - including ridehailer Uber Technologies and property platforms Opendoor Technologies and KE Holdings, which operates China's Beike - for a realised gain of $5.6 billion.

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