SoftBank owned 17.45 percent of the company through SVF India Holdings as of September 30. Following the block deal, the stake is expected to shrink to 13 percent.
According to Bloomberg, shares of One97 Communications Ltd, the parent company of Paytm, traded in a series of block deals on Thursday, with about 29.50 million shares, or 4.5 percent of the firm, changing hands. However, no information about the buyers or sellers was available.
Paytm shares opened substantially lower following the block deal. The stock fell 9.3 percent to Rs 545.55 per share, the lowest since July 26.
Bloomberg previously reported that SoftBank was trying to sell $215 million in Paytm shares before the fintech’s lock-in period for pre-IPO investors expires later this week.
The Japanese investor is offering to sell 29 million shares in the company at a price range of Rs 555 to Rs 601.45 per share, representing a 7.72 percent discount to the current market price.
According to people familiar with the developments, SoftBank, whose stakes in Paytm, Policybazaar, and Delhivery are currently worth $1.8 billion, will gradually reduce its stakes over the next two years to avoid triggering a panic selling as the lock-in period for pre-IPO investors in the three companies expires in the next 10 days.
SoftBank owned 17.45 percent of the company through SVF India Holdings as of September 30. Following the block deal, the stake is expected to shrink to 13 percent. Masayoshi Son’s SVF India Holdings purchased Paytm shares for an average of Rs 900 per share. His investment is down 33% as of the November 16 closing price of Rs 601.
Norges Bank, Segantii, Millennium, LMR, and Ghisallo purchase SoftBank shares in a block trade with Paytm.
