Ant transfers 10.3% in Paytm to Sharma

The Chinese firm will retain economic ownership of the shares

- Mayur Bhalerao, Sneha Shah & Arti Singh

Ant Group transferred about 44% of its stake in One 97 Communications Ltd, which runs Paytm, to founder and chief executive Vijay Shekhar Sharma, a move seen as an effort to reduce the Chinese company's ownership in the Indian fintech giant.

Paytm said Resilient Asset Management BV, an overseas entity owned by Sharma, will acquire the ownership and voting rights of 10.3% of the stake in the company held by Antfin (Netherlands), a unit of Ant Group, formerly known as Ant Financial. Upon successfully completing this transaction, Sharma's Paytm holding will increase to 19.42%, making him the company's largest shareholder. Alongside, Antfin's stake will reduce to 13.5%, according to an exchange filing.

Resilient Asset structured this transaction by offering optionally convertible debentures (OCDs) to Antfin, which allows the Chinese giant to retain economic ownership of the shares. Put simply, Sharma and his Chinese backer have agreed to split the ownership rights and the economic rights of shares in the firm.

Ant Group first invested in One 97 in February 2015. The company raised 18,300 crore in its IPO in November 2021.

After Monday's transaction, which was valued at $628 million, Sharma's ownership increased from 9.12% to 19.42%, making him the single-largest shareholder, while Ant Group's ownership came down from 23.8% to 13.5%, making it the third-largest shareholder. Elevation Capital, an early-stage venture capital fund and one of Paytm's earliest backers, still holds around a 15% stake in the company.