SoftBank’s stake in Paytm falls under 3% as it sells more shares

Japanese investment firm SoftBank has further pared its stake in troubled Indian fintech One 97 Communications and brought its holding down to under 3 per cent.

“SVF India Holdings (Cayman) Ltd has disposed of an aggregate of 13,784,787 equity shares of One97 Communication Ltd in a series of disposals undertaken between January 23,2024 and February 26, 2024, with a disposal on February 26, 2024, breaching the 2 per cent threshold specified in Regulation 29 (2) of the SEBI Takeover Regulation,” the firm said in a regulatory filing.

It sold a 2.17 per cent stake bringing its holding down to 2.83 per cent.

• Also read: Amidst Paytm crisis, Softbank has three IPOs on its plate this year in India

January sale

Prior to the stake sale, it had held just over 5 per cent, down from the 6.46 per cent it had held at the end of December. It had sold around 2 per cent in early January just before the crackdown by the Reserve Bank of India that barred its payments bank from accepting any new deposits and credit transactions.

The Masayoshi Son-led investment firm has been steadily bringing down its stake in Paytm over the years, making neat profits when the fintech firm was riding high on its popularity. In 2021, its stake had been as high as 17.47 per cent.

Shares of Paytm have dropped 46 per cent over the last one month, though it has recouped some of its losses after falling to a 52-week low of ₹318.35 on February 16.

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