Paytm falls nearly 3% after SoftBank sells additional 2% stake

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Paytm fell nearly 3% intraday on Tuesday after SoftBank offloaded another 2% in the company over the past one month. The stock was last trading at Rs 843.6 on the NSE, down about 2.1% from previous close. ET reported that the Japanese investment firm has sold an additional 2% stake in One 97 Communications, the parent of Paytm, generating proceeds of $180 million to $200 million.

This brought down SoftBank's stake below 10% in Paytm for the first time. As of March quarter, it had held 12.88% in the company. In May, SoftBank sold 2.07% stake in the fintech company through a series of open market transactions.

ET had reported earlier that SoftBank was planning to gradually sell its holdings in Paytm as it intends to exit the company completely. Recently, China’s Alibaba Group had also sold 3.3% stake in Paytm through the open market in a Rs 1,378 crore deal. March quarter shareholding pattern shows that Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma owned 9.13% stake in the company, which doesn't have any promoter entity.

The shares of Paytm have recovered significantly from the lows hit last year. The stock is up nearly 60% so far this year and is fast catching up with its 52-week high. This is a strong revival from its 52-week low of Rs 439.

The up move in the share price is mainly due to the improved financials and optimistic growth prospects in its lending business. In the March quarter, Paytm's consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 168 crore from Rs 761 crore a year ago, and Rs 392 crore a quarter ago. At the operating level, the company managed to rebound and reported a second quarter of EBITDA (before ESOP cost) profitability at Rs 101 crore.