Stake sale · Financial Services
Antfin sells remaining Paytm stake, ends Chinese ownership
By Startup Enthusiast ·
- Date
- Company
- One97 Communications (Paytm)
- What it does
- Digital payments and financial services platform
- Kind
- Stake sale
- Amount
- ₹3,803 crore
- Stage
- public
- Based in
- Noida
- Founded
- 2000
- Sector
- Financial Services
What they do
Paytm is a digital payments and financial services platform offering UPI, recharges, bill payments, and more
What happened
Antfin (Netherlands) sold its remaining 5.84% stake in One97 Communications via block deal for about ₹3,803 crore
Why it matters
The sale leaves Paytm with zero Chinese ownership, making it fully Indian-owned for the first time
The details
- Antfin (Netherlands) Holding BV sold its remaining 5.84% stake in One97 Communications (Paytm) via a block deal.
- The transaction was valued at about ₹3,803 crore.
- This sale means Paytm now has zero Chinese ownership, making it fully Indian-owned.
- Antfin's total investment in Paytm was estimated at ₹33,600 crore, with modest returns.
- In 2023, Antfin transferred a 10% stake to founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, structured as debt to be repaid over time.
- India tightened scrutiny on Chinese ownership in Indian tech firms starting 2020.
- Paytm's share price fell about 1% to ₹1,058 on BSE after the news.
- Jefferies upgraded Paytm's rating to 'Buy' and raised its target price to ₹1,250.
The bigger picture
- The sale ends a long period of Chinese ownership in one of India's most prominent fintech companies.
- SoftBank invested $1.4 billion in Paytm in 2017, valuing it at $7 billion.
- Paytm was once India's most valued startup at $15 billion at its peak.
- Paytm has consistently maintained it shared no user data with foreign entities.
About the business
- Paytm offers UPI payments, mobile/DTH/FASTag recharges, bill payments, flight booking, and credit cards from HDFC, SBI, and Axis Bank.
- It provides an insurance marketplace and a margin trading facility at 7.99% p.a.
- Paytm for Business offers QR codes, Soundbox, and card machines for merchant payments.
- Paytm recently added features like hide/unhide UPI transactions, download statements in Excel/PDF, track total bank balances, and customise UPI IDs.
- It enabled international UPI payments in UAE, Singapore, France, Mauritius, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.
The deal
- Type
- stake-sale
Investors
- Antfin (Netherlands) Holding BV (seller) — Antfin is the Netherlands-based investment vehicle of Alibaba Group, which held a stake in Paytm.
Founders
- Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder
More on One97 Communications (Paytm)
- Resilient Asset Management sells Paytm stake worth ₹2,949 crore17 August 2026 · Stake sale · ₹2,948.9 crore
- Paytm invests ₹100 crore in Paytm Money via rights issue21 July 2026 · Funding · ₹100 crore
- Paytm becomes majority Indian-owned company14 April 2026 · Policy
- Paytm allots ESOP shares and grants new options4 January 2026 · Milestone