Shares of One97 Communications Ltd, owner of Paytm, recorded a series of block deals on Thursday in which around 29.50 million shares or 4.5 percent stake of the company changed hands, according to Bloomberg. Details of the buyers and sellers, however, were not known.
Shares of Paytm opened sharply lower after the block deal. The stock dropped as much as 9.3 percent to Rs 545.55 a share - its lowest since July 26.
Also Read: Paytm in focus as pre-IPO investor lock-in expires
Bloomberg had earlier reported that SoftBank was looking to sell $215 million worth of shares in Paytm as the fintech's lock-in for pre-IPO investors ends later this week.
The Japanese investor is offering to sell 29 million shares in the company at Rs 555 to Rs 601.45 apiece, at a discount of up to 7.72 percent to the current market price.
Moneycontrol earlier reported that SoftBank, whose holdings in Paytm, Policybazaar and Delhivery are currently worth $1.8 billion, will pare its stakes gradually over the next two years so as to not trigger a panic selling as the lock-in for pre-IPO investors in the three companies expires over the next 10 days, according to people familiar with the developments.
As of September 30, SoftBank held a 17.45 percent stake in the company through SVF India Holdings. After the block deal, the stake is likely to fall to 13 percent. Masayoshi Son’s SVF India Holdings had acquired Paytm shares at an average cost of Rs 900 a share. As of November 16 closing price of Rs 601, his investment is down 33 percent.
Norges Bank, Segantii, Millennium, LMR, Ghisallo buy majority of SoftBank shares in Paytm block trade
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