Paytm, one of India’s largest digital payments services company, is on its way to launch its Rs 16,600 crore initial public offering (IPO) after receiving approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Saturday, 23 October, reported PTI.
According to the report, the company is considering skipping the pre-IPO raise plans so as to fast-track the company's market debut timeline.
However, the company's plans of shelving the pre-IPO raise, which isn't yet confirmed, is not related to any valuation differences, reported IANS, quoting multiple sources aware of the developments.
The company, which was last valued at $16 billion when it last raised funds in 2019, is seeking to raise Rs 8,300 crore by issuing fresh stocks and the same amount of stocks will also be offered for sale after some pre-IPO share offloading. If raised, this would be the largest IPO in the country’s corporate history.
According to PTI, company founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Alibaba group will be diluting some of their stocks ahead of the IPO. Apart from them, Antfin (Netherlands) Holding BV, Alibaba.com Singapore E-Commerce, and Elevation Capital V FII Holdings will also be selling some of their stake in the company.
As of FY21, the total revenue from the company’s operations stood at Rs 3,186 crore derived from 114 million users and over 7.4 billion transactions. According to the PTI report, Paytm has reported a negative cash of Rs 222.1 crore due to operation cost and working capital requirement this financial year.
According to an Indian Express report, the company will be listing its shared on the BSE and NSE by mid-November. The report further states that Paytm plans to used Rs 4,300 crore from the issue to expand its existing business line and acquire new merchants.
(with inputs from IANS, PTI, The Indian Express and NDTV)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)