INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Paytm Stake Sale: The company is aiming to raise $3 billion via the public listing on boursesDigital payments firm Paytm is seeking
shareholder approval to sell up to Rs 12,000 crore in new stock in what could be the South Asian country's biggest-ever initial public
offering at a total of $3 billion
Paytm, which counts China's Alibaba and Japan's SoftBank as backers, will sell new shares and will also have an option to retain an
over-subscription of up to one per cent, the company said in a notice for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of shareholders in Delhi on
July 12.The company is aiming to raise $3 billion via the public listing on Indian bourses, a source familiar with the matter told
Reuters.It has hired banks JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, ICICI Securities and Goldman Sachs for the IPO, the source added, declining to be
identified as the matter is private.At the EGM, Paytm also plans to propose that its founder, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, be relieved from his
role as the company's "promoter", the company said in the notice
Paytm did not respond to a request for comment.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 swelled further in 2016 when a ban on high-value currency bank notes boosted digital payments.Paytm has since branched out into
services including insurance and gold sales, movie and flight ticketing, and bank deposits and remittances.
