Adani Group eyes stake in One97 Communications, say reports; Paytm denies any such talks
Paytm, according to sources cited by The Times of India. As per the report, Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma visited Adani at his office in Ahmedabad on Tuesday to "finalize the contours of a deal."However, Paytm denied any such talks.In a clarification issued on the bourses, it said, "We hereby clarify that the abovementioned news item is speculative and the Company is not engaged in any discussions in this regard.
We have always made and will continue to make disclosures in compliance with our obligations under the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015."If the deal goes through, it will mark the ports-to-airports conglomerate's entry into the fintech industry positioning it against competitors like Google Pay, Walmart-owned PhonePe, and Mukesh Ambani's Jio Financial. Prior to this, the Adani Group acquired cement makers ACC and Ambuja Cements, as well as media firm NDTV in FY23.
The report indicates that Adani and Sharma have been in discussions for an extended period, with their recent meeting focusing on finalizing the deal's details.The report about Adani Group's potential stake in One97 Communications comes amidst mounting losses for Paytm, exacerbated by the RBI ban on Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL). The Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led firm reported a loss of ₹549.60 crore in the March quarter, up from ₹219.80 crore in the December quarter and ₹168.90 crore in the same quarter the previous year."Our fourth quarter FY24 results were impacted by temporary disruption on account of UPI transition etc.
and permanent disruption because of the PPBL embargo. Paytm reported a revenue of ₹2,267 crore, a modest decline of 3 percent YoY (year-on-year).
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