Chinese group Ant Financial exits Paytm, sells 5.84 pc stake for Rs 3,980 crore

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma's Ant Financial on Tuesday exited One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, by selling its entire 5.84 per cent stake for Rs 3,980 crore through open market transactions.

Ant Group, through its affiliate Antfin (Netherlands) Holding BV, offloaded around 3.73 crore equity shares of Noida-based One97 Communications in large deals. Ant Group, formerly known as Ant Financial, is an affiliate company of the Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group.

Shares of One97 Communications fell 2.38 per cent to close at Rs 1,052.65 apiece on the BSE.

According to the bulk deal data on the BSE, Antfin (Netherlands) Holding BV offloaded nearly 3.73 crore equity shares, representing 5.84 per cent stake, in two tranches.

The shares were sold in the price range of Rs 1,067.53-1,067.63 apiece, taking the combined deal value to Rs 3,980.76 crore.

As of the June quarter, Antfin (Netherlands) Holding BV owned a 5.84 per cent stake in Paytm.

Meanwhile, Paris-based financial services company Societe Generale through its two affiliates bought a total of 67.50 lakh shares or 1.06 per cent stake in Paytm for Rs 720.56 crore.

In addition, Hong Kong-based MY.Alpha Management through its arm -- MY Asian Opportunities Master Fund LP -- purchased 35 lakh equity shares or 0.55 per cent stake in Paytm for Rs 373.62 crore.

MY.Alpha Management HK Advisors has been responsible for the management of York Capital Management Global Advisors LLC's Asian hedge fund business. MY.Alpha's ultimate control is under Masahiko Yamaguchi.

The shares were acquired at an average price of Rs 1,067.50 apiece on the BSE.

Details of the other buyers of One97 Communications' shares could not be ascertained on the exchange.

After the exit by Ant Group, Resilient Asset Management BV, an entity owned by founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma and his family members, and Hong Kong-based private equity firm SAIF Partners hold more than 10 per cent stake in Paytm.

SAIF Partners, through its two affiliates, owns a 15.34 per cent stake in Paytm as of June 2025, according to the shareholding data on the BSE.

Resilient Asset Management BV holds a 10.24 per cent stake while Vijay Shekhar Sharma owns a direct 9.07 per cent stake in the payment services provider.

Earlier, Chinese internet firm Alibaba Group was the biggest shareholder in Paytm with a 34.7 per cent stake before the company's initial public offering in November 2021. Alibaba group firm Antfin sold around 5 per cent shares to lower its stake below 25 per cent in Paytm to comply with regulatory requirements at the time of IPO.

To shed its Chinese-owned entity image, Paytm in August 2023 announced that Antfin would transfer its 10.3 per cent stake in Paytm to Resilient Asset Management BV.

In return, Resilient issued a debt instrument -- optionally convertible debentures-- to Antfin, thereby maintaining the economic interest of the Alibaba group firm. With this transaction, Antfin's direct stake in Paytm was reduced to 13.5 per cent.

Ant Group had been shedding its stake in Paytm after the listing in 2021. At the end of March 2025, the Chinese fintech giant had nearly 10 per cent stake in Paytm.

In May this year, Ant Group offloaded more than 2.55 crore shares or a 4 per cent stake in One97 Communications for Rs 2,103 crore.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)