Shubhiksha G V, Pune
Fintech Giant Ant group, backed by Alibaba Group Holding of Jack Ma, has considered selling part of their stake in One 97’s PayTM. The official announcement is awaited as the news is confirmed by unnamed sources. Bloomberg Business has said that this decision is made to keep their holding within the required threshold.
Due to buyback of shares, Ant’s stake in PayTM has increased to 25% after the repurchase of buyback shares declined. It has risen 0.14% since December 2022. Economic Times also reported that Ant has a 90-day window to cut its stake after the completion of the buyback on Feb. 13.
The talks about selling are said to be preliminary and no concrete confirmation has been given from either of the companies. Ant Group is also awaiting confirmation on their financial holding license in China to broaden their fintech investments and assure they continue operations. The regulators have also allowed the firm’s lending affiliate to increase capital, according to ET.
This talk has also come just in time as Bharti Airtel head Sunil Mittal announced that he is looking to buy shares in PayTM. He looks to incorporate Airtel Payments Bank into PayTM and buy shares from other shareholders, Mint reported. But neither of the deals are expected to reach a positive note, thus far.
Ant Group has also invested in 10 other fintech wallet companies across Asia (outside Mainland China) to create a linked network of payment transaction services across the continent.