Warren Buffett's Berkshire eyes stake in Paytm's parent company: Report

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is looking to purchase a stake in Paytm’s parent company One97 Communications, according to a Mint report.

Paytm has been in talks with Berkshire Hathaway to raise Rs 2,200-2,500 crore (USD 300-350 million), which could value the company at about USD 10-12 billion, sources told the paper.

This would be Warren Buffett’s first investment in an Indian company, and Berkshire Hathaway’s first-ever investment in a private technology company.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.

Berkshire Hathaway had in 2011 set up Berkshire India to partner with Bajaj Allianz to sell insurance, but exited the partnership two years ago. The company’s decision was due to excessive regulation, a media report said.

The company has invested in public-listed technology companies before, including IBM and Apple.  The company still holds stock in Apple, but has exited its investment in IBM.

Paytm, India’s largest payments-service provider, already has the backing of global investors including Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group, Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group and Ant Financial.

One97 Communications was founded in 2000 by Vijay Shekhar Sharma, beginning as a mobile payments and recharge business.

Paytm’s payments business saw tremendous growth after demonetisation, when the government banned high-value currency notes.