Thursday, April 18

Paytm’s Parent One97 Communications Crosses Rs 1 lakh crore Valuation Mark

The parent company India’s biggest payment services firm Paytm that is One97 Communications has reportedly and successfully crossed the valuation mark of Rs 1 lakh crore in the unofficial market.

Talking about the unofficial market, the firm’s value has raced past the market capitalisation of listed blue-chips like IndusInd Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, HDFC Standard Life Insurance and Godrej Consumer.

One97 shares changed hands at roughly Rs 18,200 a piece this week, running up nearly 60% in the last six months after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought a stake in the company.

“Shares of One97 Communications have jumped from Rs 11,000 to Rs 18,000 in just six months after Warren Buffett’s firm invested,” said Sambhav Aggarwal, director, ARMS Securities, a New Delhi-based firm dealing in unlisted shares.

Rajan Shah of Mumbai-based 3A Capital Services also confirmed that the deals have happened at around Rs 18,000 this week. And now, with a paid-up capital of Rs 55.32 crore and at a price of Rs 18,200 per share, the company is currently valued at ₹1,00,975 crore.

Most of the revenues of the company come from its most popular brand Paytm, which offers digital payments and has now diversified into travel, entertainment and even financial services, was valued at $7 billion (approx. ₹50,000 crore) last year.

Further, the company was valued at $10 billion at the time of secondary share sales by the employees of the company. Promoter Vijay Shekhar Sharma held 16.36% stake in the company as on March 31, 2018. Other major shareholders as on March 31, 2018 include Alipay Singapore E-Commerce- 31.71%, SVF India Holding (Cayman)-20.47%, SAIF III Mauritius Company-28.48% and Alibaba.com-8%.