Alibaba and Ant Financials have exited the e-commerce company Paytm Mall, as it focuses on its transition to India’s Open Network Digital Commerce (ONDC).

“As part of the shift in the business direction of the company, PEPL (Paytm E-commerce) also saw the exit of early investors,” said a spokesperson pf Paytm Mall, which is a privately-held entity, independent of publicly-listed fintech major Paytm. 

According to reports, Alibaba and Ant Financials have sold their 43 per cent stake in Paytm Mall for ₹42 crore.

It is reported that the company’s valuation has dropped from $3 billion in 2020 to $13 million (about ₹100 crore) now. Last year, Hurun Global Unicorn Index also noted that Paytm Mall’s valuation dropped below $1 billion in 2021. Following these reports, the company has said in a statement that the exit price of any investors in the company via capital reduction process is not reflective of the valuation of the company. “One simple metric is to consider that our cash balance itself is significantly higher than the quoted number in media reports, which establishes that the suggested low Fair Market Valuation is completely inaccurate,” said a Paytm Mall spokesperson. However, he did not share the current valuation of Paytm Mall. 

Paytm Mall has raised $200 million from Alibaba in 2017 at around $1 billion valuation. Overall, the company is estimated to have raised over $800 million in capital from Alibaba, Ant Financial, SoftBank, and eBay, among others. The company is going to hold an extraordinary general meeting on May 23, 2022.

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