Paytm shares in focus on report Adani group eyeing stake

One 97 Communications Ltd (Paytm) shares are in focus on Wednesday morning as a media report suggested Adani Group chairman, Gautam Adani, is considering buying a stake in Paytm's parent company. The report quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying that the Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma met Gautam Adani at latter's office in Ahmedabad to finalise the contours of a deal" on Tuesday.

The report came in the backdrop of mounting losses for Paytm, following the RBI ban on Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL). The Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led firm posted Rs 549.60 crore loss in the March quarter, up from Rs 219.80 crore in the December quarter and Rs 168.90 crore in the same quarter last year.

Business Today could not independently verify the Adani report but if the deal goes through, it will help the ports-to-airports conglomerate enter into the fintech industry. Before this, the Adani group acquired cement makers ACC and Ambuja Cements; and media firm NDTV in FY23.

Analysts noted that after being under pressure, merchant payments business has started to grow for Paytm in April and May. On the other hand, monthly transacting users, which drive consumer payments business, are down 25 per cent compared with January. April was the worst month for MTUs but this has stabilised in May. MTU growth will happen once the TPAP commencement happens, analysts said.

SoftBank has sold its majority stake in Paytm. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway reportedly exited Paytm last year.

Adani is engaging with West Asian funds to attract them as investors in One 97 Communications, the Times of India report suggested. Vijay Shekhar Sharma owned nearly 19 per cent stake in One 97 Communications. His stake was last valued at Rs just over Rs 4,200 crore. He directly owns 9 per cent stake in Paytm and another 10 per cent through Resilient Asset Management, a foreign entity. Both Sharma and Resilient are classified as public shareholders.