Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba group company Antfin is likely to divest up to 4 per cent of its stake in Paytm worth Rs 2,066 crore through block deals, sources privy to the development told CNBC TV18. The Alibaba entity is expected to sell the stakes in the fintech firm at floor price of Rs 809.75/ share. The floor price represents a 6.5 per cent discount to the closing price of the Paytm stock on May 12.
At the end of the March quarter, Antfin (Netherlands) Holding B.V. held a 9.85 per cent stake in One 97 Communications, the parent firm of Paytm.
Earlier on May 6, Paytm released its fiscal fourth quarter earnings report with a loss narrowed to Rs 539.80 crore in comparison to a loss of Rs 549.60 crore recorded during the corresponding quarter of FY24. However, on a sequential basis, the fintech firm’s loss widened from Rs 208.3 crore recorded during the December quarter due to a one-time employee stock option cost, which led to a wider loss compared to the previous quarter.
The fintech major achieved EBITDA before ESOP profitability of Rs 81 crore. Profit after tax also recorded improvement with losses narrowing to Rs 23 crore, excluding a one-time ESOP charge of Rs 522 crore.
In the post-earnings presser, Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma had said, “We are at the verge of PAT (profit after tax) profitability… I’m very sure that in (the) next quarter onwards, if everything goes as we are seeing, it could very well be a profitable quarter.”