Paytm block deal: SocGen, Ghisallo, Viridian among biggest buyers in Rs 964 crore stake sale

Paytm parent One 97 Communications witnessed Rs 964 crore worth of block deals on Friday, with institutional investors including Societe Generale, Ghisallo Master Fund, Viridian Asia Opportunities Master Fund and Nippon India Mutual Fund emerging as key buyers, while existing shareholders SAIF Partners India IV Limited, Elevation Capital V Limited and SAIF III Mauritius Company Limited pared their stakes.

According to block deal data on the exchanges, Societe Generale picked up nearly 18.87 lakh shares worth around Rs 211.46 crore at a price of Rs 1,120.65 apiece, making it the single largest buyer in the transaction.

Hedge funds Ghisallo Master Fund LP and Viridian Asia Opportunities Master Fund separately purchased 12.8 lakh shares each for about Rs 143.44 crore apiece.

Among domestic institutional investors, Nippon India Mutual Fund acquired 11.11 lakh shares worth Rs 124.5 crore, while Sundaram Mutual Fund bought 3 lakh shares valued at Rs 33.62 crore. Edelweiss Mutual Fund also participated in the transaction by purchasing shares worth nearly Rs 37.5 crore.

Other prominent buyers included BNP Paribas Arbitrage, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE, Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius, Citigroup Global Markets Singapore and Copthall Mauritius Investment.

The shares changed hands at Rs 1,120.65 each, implying a total transaction size of about Rs 964 crore.Paytm shares fell sharply on Friday, settling with declines of 3.74% or Rs 43.20 at Rs 1,112.40. Global investment bank Citi has reportedly been appointed as the placement agent for the transaction.As per the shareholding data available on the BSE, SAIF Partners held shares in One 97 Communications through its affiliates Saif Partners India Iv Limited and Saif Iii Mauritius Company Limited. While the former held over 2.56 crore shares as on March 31, that represented 4% stake, the latter held over 6 crore share accounting for 9.43% equity.

The development comes after a sharp recovery in Paytm shares over the past year, aided by improving operational metrics, narrowing losses and renewed investor confidence in the digital payments ecosystem. The stock has delivered 34% over a one-year period.

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