The Chinese fintech giant has been discussing options to reduce its stake in One 97 Communications Ltd. after its share percentage increased passively due to share buybacks
Move is the latest in a string of top exits from the food aggregator; comes a week after Feigan stepped down from the board of Paytm parent One97 Communications
The company will give 10 individuals, including the founder, management and staff, voting rights independently, effectively removing Ma's voting control of Ant, according to an announcement
The deal resolves a key hurdle for Ant as it seeks to meet requirements from regulators following a crackdown on its business after its record initial public offering was torpedoed in 2020
A fine on Ant could help pave the way for the company to secure a long-awaited financial holding company license, seek growth again, and eventually revive its plans for a public market debut
The biggest shareholders in One97 Communications Ltd., Paytm's parent company, are Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and its fintech affiliate Ant Group Co., as well as Japan's SoftBank Group Corp
Ant, an affiliate of Alibaba, has been subjected to a sweeping restructuring by China, whose initial public offering of $37 billion, was derailed by the country's regulators in late 2020
Jack Ma's twin empires have been recasting themselves amid closer scrutiny by China's watchdogs on everything from corporate governance to dealings among affiliates.
Shares of the e-commerce giant shot up as much as 7% earlier after a Bloomberg News report that China's financial regulators have established a team to assess the fintech giant's share sale plans.
Paytm E-commerce have bought back the entire stake of Alibaba, which held 28.34 per cent, and Antfin (Netherlands) Holding, which held 14.98 per cent stake, a total of 43.32 per cent, for Rs 42 crore.
