Ashneer Grover Digs Into Paytm Wallet To Buy Peace With Start-Ups

Paytm has found an unlikely ally. embattled BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover surprised everyone on Thursday after he tweeted urging people to "buy" Paytm stocks.

"Paytm stock is a screaming BUY! It’s valued at $7B ; Funds raised itself is $4.6B ; Cash in Hand should be $1.5 B. So at CMP of ₹600, the market is saying value created is $5.5B after having spent $3.1B over last 10 years. That’s less than Bank FD rate. BUY !!" Grover tweeted.

The tweet comes after the share prices of Paytm dropped more than 70 per cent from its issue price of Rs 2,150.

Grover’s kind words come after he hit out against Paytm in November last year, criticising Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s decision to “misprice” the fintech firm's IPO.

“I used to tell investors that there’s going to be two markets -- pre-Paytm and post-Paytm because post-Paytm is going to tank and that is exactly what has happened. The reason is quite simple, you have mispriced your IPO,” Grover had said in an interview with Moneycontrol.

He added that Paytm's listing will have a huge impact on the upcoming IPOs including that of Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC).

But Grover surprised everyone on Thursday after he tweeted urging people to "buy" Paytm stocks.

However, this is not the first time Grover has changed his stance on Paytm, in an interview with Economic Times, he had said he should not have been "vocal about Paytm's IPO."

"Even though the numbers on the stock market are reflecting that it was still not my place to speak," he had said.
 

The BharatPe founder became a household name, thanks to Shark Tank India, the reality show featuring entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas to a panel of investors to invest in their company.

Grover’s heated interactions with entrepreneurs and arguments with fellow judges triggered a meme wave on social media.

But things have been going south for Grover as he landed in a controversy after a leaked phone call surfaced earlier this year in which he is heard allegedly threatening and abusing Kotak Bank’s employee over Nykaa’s IPO.

Following this, several accusations and counter-accusations ensued between Grover and Bharatpe dragging board members, investors, and co-founders in the controversy.

This also led to Grover's resignation from the company, just days after the fintech startup terminated the services of his wife and the company’s head of controls, Madhuri Jain Grover, over alleged financial irregularities.

But it's not just in reality shows, Grover has never stopped short of mincing his words against the business competition, too; case in point is earlier outbursts against Paytm.
 

Atonement could be in order for Grover as he appeared on The Kapil Sharma Show earlier this year and apologised for his temper.

"I am using Kapil's platform to speak to anyone who has been offended. 20,000 crore are kneeling and apologising here," he said.

With him backing Paytm stocks, it seems Grover is looking to bury the hatchet with Paytm.

The timing is interesting as Grover and Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma seems to be sailing in the same boat as troubles mount for both the entrepreneurs.

Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) barred Paytm Payments Bank from onboarding new customers. Paytm has lost around Rs 1 trillion in market cap, now down to Rs 40,000 crore.

It's tough to say what the future holds for the embattled BharatPe co-founder but it looks like Grover is looking to make peace with start-ups, rivals, and others.