One quick thing:  ‘Don’t want to go down the Byju's path’: Aakash tells NCLAT 

In today’s newsletter:

• Paytm’s PayPay payday 
• Mobikwik slashes IPO size for the third time 
• Exponent Energy to set up battery facility in Bengaluru

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As December rolls in and the holiday season draws near, it seems Paytm's founder, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, is receiving an early Christmas present.

Paytm's parent, One97 Communications, is selling its stake in Japan’s digital payments giant PayPay to Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank for $250 million (approx Rs 2,000 crore).

• The move is part of Paytm’s strategy to offload non-core assets, boost capital base while it focuses on its core payments business
  
  
• The deal will further boost Paytm's existing cash reserve of Rs 10,000 crore

Paytm confirmed the developments in a stock exchange filing hours after we broke the story, but did not disclose the buyer or the deal size.

Paytm’s association with PayPay goes back to 2018, when Paytm joined forces with SoftBank and Yahoo Japan to help launch QR-code-based cashless payments in Japan.

• The company had got a stock acquisition right in PayPay, which gave it a 5.4% stake if exercised

In July 2023, reports suggested PayPay was eyeing a US IPO at an estimated valuation of around 1 trillion yen ($6.8 billion).

• The stake sale also comes at a time when SoftBank, once a major shareholder in Paytm, fully exited the firm at a $544 million loss on a $1.6 billion investment

After a rough year with regulatory hurdles, Paytm seems to be on track again. 

The fintech firm, tangled in regulatory hurdles since the beginning of the year, has been working to shed off businesses that don’t fit its growth plans.

• It recently sold its entertainment ticketing business, Paytm Insider, to Zomato for Rs 2,048 crore
  
  
• Its stock hit a 52-week high in December, with a 185% jump in just six months
  
  
• It also received the much-awaited NPCI nod to onboard new UPI users in October

Despite posting a Rs 930 crore profit in Q2 FY24 due to asset sales, Paytm's core operations remain loss-making (Rs 495 crore), though losses have narrowed sequentially by 41%

Find out more

Looks like MobiKwik is in trim-and-fit mode—its IPO size has been slashed yet again.

The Gurugram-based payments and financial services platform is gearing up for its IPO, which opens on December 11 and closes on December 13.

• At a price band of Rs 265-279 per share, the firm is targeting a Rs 572 crore raise—all through a fresh issue of shares, with no Offer for Sale (OFS) component
  
  
• Post-IPO, Mobikwik’s market cap is expected to touch Rs 2,190 crore ($264 million), boosted by the Rs 572 crore infusion from fresh proceeds 

MobiKwik initially filed for a Rs 1,900 crore IPO back in July 2021. By January 2024, that figure was reduced to Rs 700 crore, and now it has been trimmed to Rs 572 crore.

At its upper price band, MobiKwik's post IPO valuation of roughly Rs 2,190 crore represents a significant 70% drop from its Rs 6,930 crore ($924 crore) peak valuation in 2021.

CEO Bipin Preet Singh defended the cut, explaining that the current valuation is realistic and aligned with today’s market dynamics.

“Back in 2021, the focus was on growth at all costs. Today, we are profitable and don't need to dilute so much anymore,” Singh said, emphasising the need to balance investor confidence with justifiable pricing.

Singh and his team are keen to avoid the post-IPO blues that plagued peers like Paytm.

"It's better to price the IPO where it makes sense for everyone," he said, adding that the company would rather let its performance drive future valuation bumps.

Post-IPO, Mobikwik is banking on its financial products distribution strategy to further diversify its revenue streams.

• This includes insurance, for which Mobikwik has already secured an insurance distribution license, gold, and direct mutual funds

During Q1 FY25, MobiKwik reported revenue of Rs 342.2 crore with a marginal loss of Rs 6.6 crore, while for FY24, it achieved a 62% YoY revenue growth at Rs 875 crore, closing the fiscal with a profit of Rs 14 crore.

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Bengaluru-based Exponent Energy is set to debut its integrated 1 gigawatt (GW) battery manufacturing and R&D hub, ‘e-Park,’ in Electronic City with an investment of Rs 20 crore.

Exponent currently has a facility in Karnataka’s Attibele region and this new facility will mark a huge expansion effort for the company. 

• This milestone follows its $26 million Series B funding round, led by Eight Roads Ventures and TDK Ventures

• The facility is set to go live in the next two months

Exponent's cofounder Arun Vinayak told us that this is an industry-first integrated facility that combines manufacturing and R&D in one place. 

• Ola Electric has a factory facility in Hosur and an R&D center called Battery Innovation Centre in Bengaluru 

• Exponent’s e-Park adds to this momentum as well and the startup plans to expand its presence to five cities, including Chennai and Mumbai, by FY25 

Go deeper

• RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said that the central bank will use its newly developed AI tool, MuleHunter.AI, created by its Innovation Hub, to help banks identify and reduce fraud by targeting suspected mule accounts.
  
  
• US President elect Donald Trump has appointed venture capitalist David Sacks of Craft Ventures to serve as his AI and crypto czar.

First up, we have Jigra, an action thriller directed by Vasan Bala. 

• Starring Alia Bhatt and Vedang Raina, the film follows the journey of Satya, a woman determined to rescue her brother from the clutches of a foreign prison. Check it out on Netflix

Next, we have Agni, starring Pratik Gandhi and Divyenndu, the film tells the inspiring story of a brave firefighter who teams up with his estranged brother-in-law to prevent a devastating fire. Watch it on Amazon Prime Video

P.S: Want more? Featuring Sivakarthikeyan, Sai Pallavi, Rahul Bose, and Bhuvan Arora, Amaran is set againts the backdrop of the 2014 Qazipathri operation in Shopian. Check it out on Netflix

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