Shares of One97 Communications, the parent of payment service provider - Paytm, fell as much as 10 per cent to hit an intraday low of Rs 541.30 on the BSE after Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank offloaded shares of the company via multiple block deals.
SoftBank's decision to sell shares came after its mandatory one-year lock in period for pre-IPO investors ends.
The Japanese investor sold 2.9 crore shares in the company at Rs 601.45 apiece, at a discount of 7 per cent to the current market price, according to a reports.
Trading volume on the counter surged as over 4.6 crore shares changed hands on the National Stock Exchange, data from the bourse showed.
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Softbank had made a total investment of $1.6 billion in Paytm and taken out around $220-250 million in the company’s IPO last November, according to media reports.
On Tuesday, 86 per cent of Paytm's shares became free to trade after the end of the lock-in period, allowing investors to sell shares that haven't yet been allowed onto the market.
SoftBank's Son is reportedly not in a hurry to exit from its investments like Paytm, PB Fintech and Delhivery so as to avoid triggering panic selling.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and its fintech affiliate Ant Group Co are the biggest shareholders in One97 Communications Ltd, Paytm's parent company. Alibaba.Com Singapore E-Commerce Private Limited holds 6.26 per cent of One97 while Antfin (Netherlands) Holdings B.V. has another 24.88 per cent.
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SoftBank owns 17.45 per cent through SVF India Holdings (Cayman) Limited while Berkshire Hathaway Inc's BH International Holdings holds 2.41 per cent.
One97 Communications last week reported widening of its consolidated loss to Rs 593.9 crore in the September quarter against Rs 481 crore loss a year ago.
Paytm's consolidated revenue from operations increased by about 76 per cent to Rs 1,914 crore during the reported quarter from Rs 1,086.4 crore in the September 2021 quarter.
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