As the mandatory lockin period of 1 yr is ending, Softbank has decided to offload 4.5% stake of Paytm through block deal.
- Prior to this sell, Softbank was the second largest shareholder (after Alibaba group) with 17.5% stake in Paytm.
- It’s second largest position will continue with 13% balance stake.
- Softbank has offered to sell shares in the price band of Rs 555 to Rs 601.55/ share and expects to raise around $200 mn at the lower end of the price band. Paytm shares closed at Rs 601.45 prior to this news.
- Softbank had invested $1.6 bn in Paytm in the last quarter of 2017 and had offloaded shares worth $220 mn at the time of IPO in 2021.
- Considering the amounts already realised + current value of the balance stake, Softbank’s investment of $1.6 bn has so far yielded a total value of $1.05 bn implying a loss of around 1/3rd of the investment.
It’s important to note that Paytm’s share price has corrected by almost 70% since IPO in the last 1 yr.
Despite such a significant correction, Softbank’s decision to sell a sizeable stake seems to be conveying it’s own non-clarity about Paytm’s prospects.
Key is now to see what it does with the balance 13%Â – whether it holds for a potential upside or decides to liquidate further.