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Alibaba Group has sold a 3.1-per cent stake in One97 Communications (owner of Paytm brand) worth ₹1,000 crore through a block deal on Thursday.
Alibaba, which held a 6.26 per cent stake in Paytm as of September-end, sold the stake at ₹536.95 apiece, according to Reuters. In November 2022, Softbank Group Corp sold a 4.5-per cent stake in the e-payments firm worth $200 million.
Leading investors, the likes of Warren Buffet and Masayoshi Son, who had made pre-IPO investments in these companies, have been exiting after the lock-in period ended last year. Rules require a one-year lock-in period for anchor investors, when these companies got listed. That lock-in, for at least 11 companies, ended last year.
‘A welcome move’
Avinash Gorakshakar, Head - Research, Profitmart Securities, said, ”Alibaba selling shares in Paytm could be good news for shareholders, as it reflects that Chinese shareholding is reducing in the company. This would benefit them in FDI and as the company is already on the path to profitability, this will further allay investor concerns.”
He added, “Alibaba seems to be on the exit move from India as it has sold shares in its major investments like BigBasket, Zomato and Paytm. This is a positive for shareholders, as it clears many regulatory paths. In the case of Paytm, the company is on the fast track to profitability, and has been delivering good business updates.”
Buys back 12 lakh shares
Meanwhile in a notification, the company said that it has bought back 12 lakh shares at ₹544.59 a share on Thursday. Including Thursday’s deal, the company has, so far, bought back 68.92 lakh shares.
Last December, the board of the new-age fintech company had approved a buyback of shares worth ₹850 crore through open market purchase. It had decided to buy the shares at a maximum price of ₹810. The buyback window, which opened on December 21, 2022, will close on June 19.
At the maximum buyback price and size, the maximum number of equity shares that would be bought back will be around 1.05 crore shares, the company had then said.
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