Alibaba exits Paytm, sells remaining 3.3% stake for Rs 1,378 crore

Shares of One 97 Communications (Paytm) slumped nearly 8 per cent on Friday as China's Alibaba Group sold its remaining stake in the company. The stock ended at Rs 651, down 7.8 per cent over its previous day’s close on the NSE, where over Rs 3,000 crore worth of equity changed hands.

The data released by exchanges showed Alibaba sold 3.3 per cent stake, or 21.43 million shares, at Rs 643 apiece for a total of Rs 1,378 crore. Morgan Stanley picked up about 0.8 per cent stake for Rs 314 crore.

Last month, Alibaba sold close to 3 per cent stake in Paytm through a block deal. According to the company’s December 2022 shareholding, Alibaba had a 6.26 per cent stake in Paytm and another affiliate firm Ant Financial held a 24.86 per cent stake.

Earlier, Alibaba as an investor made a full exit from BigBasket when the Tata group took over the online grocery firm in 2021. It also exited Snapdeal in 2021. It could not be ascertained if Alibaba has exited Xpressbees, too. Alibaba made a partial exit from the company as it raised $300 million and became a unicorn in 2022.

Paytm’s shares had been rallying since it announced Q3FY23 results. It announced operating profitability in its Q3FY23 results with Ebitda before ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) cost at Rs 31 crore. Revenue for the quarter stood Rs 2,062 crore, up 42 per cent year-on-year. 

Net loss for the quarter also came down to Rs 392.1 crore, from Rs 778.5 crore reported in Q3FY22.

Payments revenue grew by 21 per cent YoY to Rs 1,197 crore. The company continued to see growth in payments and loan distribution business. There was a continued expansion of the consumer base with average monthly transacting users (MTU) at 89 million for January 2023, up 29 per cent YoY.