Paytm Clarification on Adani Share Acquisition Report; the stock exchange reacts

Paytm share price today: Shares of One 97 Communications (Paytm) touched 5% of the upper trading limit in Wednesday’s session even as the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led fintech major said that reports of Adani eyeing a stake in the company are speculative and that the company is not conducting any talks on this subject.

“We have always and will continue to disclose information in accordance with our obligations under the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.” Paytm said.

Paytm shares were trading 5 percent higher at Rs 359.55 on the BSE. According to a Times of India report, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani was considering buying a stake in parent company Paytm and that Sharma met him at his Ahmedabad office on Tuesday to finalize the details of the deal.

The report comes in the backdrop of mounting losses at Paytm following the RBI ban imposed on Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL). The major fintech company reported a loss of Rs 549.60 crore in the March quarter, compared to Rs 219.80 crore in the December quarter and Rs 168.90 crore in the same quarter last year.

As per the report, Adani has partnered with West Asian funds to attract them as investors in One 97 Communications, as suggested by a Times of India report. Vijay Shekhar Sharma owned almost 19 percent stake in One 97 Communications. Its stake was recently valued at just over Rs 4,200 crore.

SoftBank has sold a majority stake in Paytm. According to reports, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway left Paytm last year.