Ant Group-backed India’s leading digital payments provider, Paytm has allotted shares worth $1.11 billion to over 100 institutional investors, including the government of Singapore, ahead of its stock market listing.
Paytm’s offer of up to $2.46 billion, which was increased last month from $2.23 billion, garnered interest from 122 institutional investors who bought more than 38.3 million shares for $28.87 each, according to a regulatory document.
Blackrock, GIC, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Birla MF and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are among the investors who financed the anchor round, Paytm said.
Launched a decade ago as a platform for mobile recharging, Paytm grew quickly after ride-hailing firm Uber listed it as a quick payment option. Its use increased further in 2016 when a ban on high-value currency banknotes in India boosted digital payments. The fintech platform has since branched out into services including insurance and gold sales, movie and flight ticketing, and bank deposits and remittances.
The company’s offering will begin on November 8 and top investor Ant Financial, with a 27.9 percent stake in Paytm, plans to sell shares worth $630 million.
Paytm’s initial public offering (IPO) comes at a time when the pandemic has fuelled India’s digital economy and local stock exchanges are showing a growing appetite for consumer tech stocks.
In India, 157 companies including TPG-backed Nykaa, Oyo Hotels and Rooms and online insurance aggregator Policybazaar have raised $17.22 billion via IPOs this year, compared with $8.54 billion raised by 49 companies in the same period last year, according to Refinitiv data.
A successful listing would likely help Paytm to attain the title of the biggest IPO in India, surpassing a record $2.07 billion IPO by government-owned coal mining and refining firm Coal India 11 years ago.
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