Bharti Enterprises' Sunil Mittal seeks a stake in Paytm: Report

Mittal seeks to fold Airtel Payments Bank into Paytm Payments Bank in a stocks deal and is also seeking to buy Paytm shares from other holders, sources told Bloomberg.

Bloomberg

February 24, 2023 / 21:18 IST

Sunil Bharti Mittal, billionaire and chairman of Bharti Enterprises Ltd (Bloomberg file image)

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Indian telecommunications tycoon Sunil Mittal is seeking a stake in Paytm by merging his financial services unit into the fintech giant’s payments bank, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Mittal seeks to fold Airtel Payments Bank into Paytm Payments Bank in a stocks deal and is also seeking to buy Paytm shares from other holders, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Talks are in early stages and Airtel and Paytm may not reach a deal, the people added.

Shares of Paytm, formally known as One 97 Communications Ltd., have rebounded about 40% from its record low in November as it shows signs of turning profitable. The company narrowed its third-quarter loss after a drive to add customers boosted revenue, it said in an exchange filing this month.

“We remain fully focused on our strong organic growth journey and are not involved in any such discussions,” a representative for Paytm said in an email statement. A spokesman for Bharti Enterprises Ltd., controlled by Mittal, declined to comment.

Once India’s most valuable startup Paytm has never traded above its IPO price of 2,150 rupees since its listing in November 2021 and had the worst first-year share plunge among large IPOs over the past decade. The company’s backers include Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. and China’s Ant Group Co.