Gautam Adani is in talks with Vijay Shekhar Sharma to acquire stake in Paytm

According to sources, Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group, is considering a stake in One 97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm. Sources revealed that Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of Paytm, held talks with Adani at his Ahmedabad office on Tuesday to finalize the terms of the potential deal. If the negotiations are successful, it would mark Adani Group’s entry into the fintech sector, setting the stage for competition with established players such as Google Pay, PhonePe (owned by Walmart) and Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Financial.

If the deal between Gautam Adani and Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma goes through, it will mark a significant move for the Adani Group in the fintech sector, pitting it against established players such as Google Pay, PhonePe (owned by Walmart) and Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Financial. This venture would be one of Adani’s major acquisitions after previous notable purchases such as Ambuja Cements and NDTV.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma currently holds nearly 19 per cent of One 97 Communications, valuing his stake at Rs 4,218 crore based on the closing price of Rs 342 per share on May 28. Sharma’s stake includes 9 percent directly through his personal stake in Paytm and an additional 10 percent indirectly through foreign entity Resilient Asset Management. As per reports, both Sharma and Resilient are listed as public shareholders in One 97’s filings with stock exchanges.

On January 31, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed business restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL), citing repeated regulatory violations and non-compliance with multiple rules. Consequently, the banking regulator banned PPBL from accepting new deposits and conducting credit transactions after February 29.