Ant Group held 24.86% stake in One 97 as of December. But after the buyback its holding went above 25%. Ant has 90 days to reduce its stake after the completion of the buyback on February 13. Let us tell you that One 97 announced a buyback of Rs 8.5 billion (i.e. $ 100 million) in December.
Ant Group Co. is considering selling some of its stake in Indian financial technology firm operator Paytm. People familiar with the matter have given this information. He says that the Chinese fintech giant is discussing options to reduce its stake in One 97 Communications Ltd.
Its share percentage has increased due to share buyback. As this matter is private, the informers have requested to keep their identity secret. He says the talks are at an initial stage. Details subject to change due to regulatory and pricing concerns. Ant Group did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Paytm also declined to comment.
The matter came to light after Ant-affiliated Alibaba Group Holding Ltd sold its stake in Paytm. This is because the e-commerce giant pulled back investment in India amid rising geopolitical tensions. People say that the sale of Ant will not be for political reasons but for technical reasons.
Ant held 24.86% stake in One 97 as of December. But the number of outstanding shares came down after the buyback. After which its holding went above 25%. A person with knowledge of the matter said Ant has 90 days to reduce its stake after the buyback is completed on February 13. One 97 announced a buyback of 8.5 billion rupees ($100 million) in December.
Also Read - A Strong Breakout Performance for this Stock priced below Rs 500
Ant is planning to withdraw its investment. While Indian telecom tycoon Sunil Mittal (telecommunications tycoon Sunil Mittal) is looking to buy a stake in Paytm by merging its financial services unit with the payment bank of the fintech company. Sources having knowledge of the matter told this.
Mittal wants to fold Airtel Payments Bank into Paytm Payments Bank in a one-stock deal. They are also seeking to buy Paytm shares from other shareholders. Sources aware of this have kept the identity a secret because it is a private matter. He says the talks are at an early stage. There may not be a deal between Airtel and Paytm.